


Haven

by Dante_Morgan



Category: Bleach
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Drama, Friendship, Gen, Graphic Description of Injury, Grimmjow swears a lot, M/M, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-02-10
Updated: 2017-10-28
Packaged: 2017-11-28 19:11:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 27
Words: 165,152
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/677896
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dante_Morgan/pseuds/Dante_Morgan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After Aizen’s defeat, Ichigo’s life was finally starting to return to normal. The arrival of a mortally wounded Espada on his doorstep however, quickly puts a stop to that.<br/>The return of an old enemy and one-time ally puts the Seireitei on high alert, with far more sinister forces lurking in the shadows taking advantage of the chaos...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

## Part 1: Darkening Skies

### Chapter 1: Survival Instinct

He'd lost sight of the enemy.

A particularly flashy explosion - the result of two powerful Ceros colliding head-on - had forced Grimmjow to shield his eyes for just an instant. In that fraction of a second, his adversary had vanished, and left Grimmjow frantically whirling around, heart hammering away in his chest as every obstacle within viewing range became a potential hiding spot.

Grimmjow wasn't foolish enough to believe that the powerful Hollow he was fighting had fled the battlefield. The incredibly potent Reiatsu still pressing down on him told him that much at least. That being said, the air was so saturated with it that it was impossible to pinpoint its source, and standing out in the open with no idea of his enemy's whereabouts was akin to suicide, so Grimmjow decided that his first order of business should be to relocate his target.

To that end, Grimmjow leaped up into the air and continued to climb until he had put considerable distance between himself and the ground. Blood and sweat alike dripped down his chin as he scanned the terrain. From his current vantage point high above the white desert he could easily see miles into the distance. Even so, Grimmjow had no more luck seeking the bastard out from up here than he had on the ground.

It had already been over an hour since the fight had started. 'One-sided' would be one way to describe the flow of the battle. To say that he was getting curb-stomped would be more accurate. The Sexta Espada was bruised and battered all over, yet he hadn't even been able to put so much as a scratch on his adversary's pale white, bony armor, despite Grimmjow having been in his released form the whole time.

He was just starting to descend again when it happened. The familiar low humming that accompanied a Sonido was the only warning he received. There wasn't any time to dodge.

The blow that followed was powerful enough to knock him clean out of the sky and sent him helplessly crashing back down into the white sands of Hueco Mundo. Upon impact, several of his ribs cracked audibly, making Grimmjow snarl in pain. In spite of the physical agony, he managed to force himself back up into a sitting position, trying his hardest to get some air back into his lungs. Staying in control of your breathing was challenging enough when you were being crushed by such overwhelming Reiatsu. Having five broken ribs didn't exactly make it any easier.

A large, blurry figure came into view, looming over him from the edge of the crater created by Grimmjow's rough landing. Accompanied by a flash of light, a familiar weight manifested in Grimmjow's hand. Almost disbelievingly, he looked at the Zanpakuto he was now holding.

There couldn't have been a worse time for his Resurrección to give out on him. Without it, he was as good as dead.

Knowing Grimmjow was vulnerable, the Hollow jumped down into the pit and mercilessly stomped on his chest with a clawed foot. The pristine white sand was stained by splotches of red as Grimmjow violently spit up blood. Some of the ribs he'd broken earlier had pierced his lungs, helped along by his assailant's foot.

"Son of a...", Grimmjow breathlessly wheezed in between coughs as more blood began to trickle into his lungs. Out of the many painful experiences he'd accumulated over the years, the sensation of having his lungs slowly fill up with his own, warm blood was easily among the worst of them.

As he stared up into the blank, unfocused eyes of the monster before him, a strange, unfamiliar sensation came over him. He could hear his own heartbeat pounding in his ears, even as an unnatural cold spread throughout his body. His already shallow breathing became erratic. His hands began shaking so uncontrollably he involuntarily let go of Pantera. The knowledge that his very existence would be wiped away any second now permeated every cell in his body.

For the first time in his life, Grimmjow was absolutely terrified.

A healthy dose of fear was an integral part of any life-or-death battle. The way Grimmjow had always seen it, fear was simply what prevented you from doing stupid things that got you killed. Never before had it caused him to feel so utterly helpless, to even lose control over his own body like this. He took solace in the fact that he hadn't pissed himself yet.

Even when it had looked like he was about to be killed by Nnoitra, he hadn't felt the slightest hint of fear. Sure, he'd been humiliated: first being shown mercy by his enemy and then being toyed with by Nnoitra like that. He'd been furious when he saw how much pleasure the freak got out of being able to end his life while Grimmjow could do nothing to resist. Anger had soon made way for surprise when a certain Shinigami stood between him and Nnoitra to block the deadly blow.

But fear? No. He even remembered wishing Nnoitra would just hurry up and get it over with.

This time though, there was no one around to save him. But that wasn't what frightened him. Grimmjow was sure of it; what he was feeling right now, this emotion... the creature pinning him to the ground was causing it. Somehow, its Reiatsu was affecting him on a far deeper level than Grimmjow had thought possible.

Aside from the raw, undiluted power the Hollow was emitting, the uncontrolled fury and hatred mixed in with it were almost tangible. This monstrosity was out for blood, and lots of it. And since Grimmjow's body just so happened to be the nearest container of said liquid...

He was brought back to the situation at hand by a bright, violet light that told him he was about to have his head blown off by a Cero if he didn't do something fast. Managing to pull himself back together, he quickly charged a Bala in response and fired it a mere instant before his opponent was able to unleash their own attack. The blast wasn't meant for doing damage though.

Grimmjow might have been reckless, stubborn and overconfident in his own abilities, but even then he wasn't stupid enough to think he stood a chance against an opponent like this, let alone that he would be able to kill it in one hit.

The bullet of red energy hit the creature in the wrist, barely doing any damage due to the armor covering every square inch of its body, but his attack had achieved the desired result: the force behind the Bala had caused his attacker's hand to move about two inches to the left just before the Cero was released, making it narrowly miss the Espada's head.

The resulting explosion was something he had been prepared for, but the impact it had on his broken body still forced a scream out of him. Both he and his adversary were sent flying, and Grimmjow just couldn't help the smirk tugging at his lips when he heard its startled cry of surprise.

That smirk quickly disappeared when he once again made a rough landing. This time he fell on a large, relatively flat slab of rock, making him cry out as the broken ribs were pushed even further into his internal organs. He twisted his broken body so that he could lie on his side. It was a little easier to breathe now that he had put some distance between himself and the monster.

Through sheer force of will, Grimmjow got to his feet once again, shakily trying to stand up using his sword as leverage. It was a good thing he'd managed to grab it in time. He groaned loudly because of the pain and bit out another curse as his legs gave out from under him. Panicked, he took a quick look at what the other Hollow was doing, and was surprised to discover it had barely moved. In fact, it seemed to be completely ignoring him in favor of checking out its slightly singed wrist.

There was a small gap in its armor, now. With almost childlike curiosity, the creature observed the mild burn caused by Grimmjow's Bala, as if trying to figure out how it had gotten there. White liquid bubbled up from the wound, covered the burnt area, and receded just as quickly as it had come, leaving behind smooth, unblemished skin. The feeling of satisfaction that had welled up inside of Grimmjow when he had finally done some damage, no matter how little it may have been, quickly reverted to annoyance.

Now that it's wrist was back to normal, the creature turned its attention to Grimmjow once again, apparently just now remembering he was even still there.

Grimmjow cursed again. He'd let himself get distracted, wasting precious seconds. As the thing easily got back up and started marching toward him, Grimmjow once again felt fear pooling in the pit of his stomach. The image of an orange-haired young man clad in black involuntarily flashed before his mind's eye.

_"You tell me first! How can you attack a guy that can't even move!?"_

That sentence had been seared into his brain. Every single day since his defeat at the hands of that young Soul Reaper, he had replayed that moment over and over again in his head.

In that instant, he made his decision. He tore at the air before him and opened a Garganta, making his executioner stop its movements. It tilted its head, as if wondering what its blue-haired punching bag was up to now.

Grimmjow was too busy to see this new development, as he was desperately dragging his body toward the darkness in front of him. It wasn't until he was already halfway in that it realized what he was doing and roared angrily as it tried to catch up to him.

By then it was already too late. The Garganta closed just as the tips of Grimmjow's toes crossed the border between Hueco Mundo and nothingness, completely blocking out the heavy Spiritual pressure. At least now he didn't feel like the sky itself was weighing down on him anymore.

He sheathed Pantera and allowed himself a brief respite before willing his body to start moving again. He knew that he had mere minutes of consciousness left. If he didn't find help soon, he would either die from losing too much blood, or choke to death when his lungs eventually gave out.

Since neither of those options seemed very appealing to Grimmjow, he kept going, focusing on keeping the platform of Reishi underneath him solid. It was the only thing keeping him from falling into the abyss below, and simply maintaining it was a herculean task in his current condition. The battle had drained him of nearly all of his Reiryoku. Trying to use any more would probably kill him.

After a mere three meters, he collapsed again. He was never going to make it like this. With great effort, he pushed himself back up on his hands and knees just as he got an idea. Carefully, he attempted to make the thin board separating him from the bottomless, swirling black void move forward. To his delighted surprise, it actually worked. He allowed a weak smile to tug at his lips. He'd been due to have a good idea sooner or later.

As he slowly drifted through the unending blackness, he couldn't help but feel like such a coward as the events replayed within his mind.

He always acted though, thought he was better and stronger than everyone else, but when faced by someone... no, rather some _thing_ so much more powerful than he was, he had turned tail and ran. He chuckled darkly at his current predicament. "Ulquiorra should see me now..." he muttered self-deprecatingly.

He was alone with his thoughts for a while, until he noticed the glowing board of Spirit Energy beneath him slowing down, and looked up to see a slightly familiar building come into view as the air split apart once again. The sign above the main entrance read 'Kurosaki clinic'.

Well, that was good. A clinic was definitely something he could use right about now.

He pulled himself forward into the cold night air, the tear in space sealing shut behind him. Finally, he allowed himself to succumb to his injuries and collapsed on the ground. His cheek pressed against the cold, hard material of the road, but he didn't even care. He'd made it.

He flared his Reiatsu using the last of his energy, hoping that the teen would come to investigate. Then, he just waited for something to happen, barely clinging to consciousness and completely incapable of moving.

Unfortunately, it appeared that Lady Luck wasn't on his side today. A big black SUV with headlights that almost mockingly glared at him was quickly coming closer. The man at the wheel couldn't see him of course, but he would probably notice when his car's tires crushed Grimmjow's skull.

Grimmjow laughed at the sheer patheticness of the situation, louder this time. If he'd known that this was how it would end, he'd have just let that bastard blow his head off. At least he would have been able to die with _some_ dignity.

The laughing became louder. The strong, proud warrior; the Sexta Espada, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez, lying in the middle of the road waiting to be run over by a fucking _car_.

He closed his eyes, a self-mocking smile still on his lips as he waited for his life to end.

Only it didn't. Unexpectedly, he felt himself getting picked up by strong arms, followed by a rush of wind as he was pulled along into a Flash Step. Shocked, he opened his eyes and found someone with brown eyes and ludicrously bright orange hair looking back at him.

"What are you doing he- oh shit... what the hell happened to you?!" The young man asked, sounding panicked. Grimmjow just kept staring into those eyes that had always looked at him with such defiance. Right now, they were filled with concern, or maybe it was pity? He wasn't really sure anymore, nor did he care all that much at the moment.

"Kuro...sa-..." He finally let go of consciousness and fell into blissful unawareness. He heard the young Soul Reaper's voice calling out to him as he allowed his body to go limp. He had made the right choice.

He was safe now.


	2. Chapter 2

### Chapter 2: Status Critical

A heavy silence hung over the group as they observed Orihime's work. Grimmjow had been encapsulated within an orange bubble - courtesy of her Soten Kisshun ability - and was steadily recovering from his injuries. He had yet to regain consciousness.

Ichigo had called Orihime the second he realized just how bad of a state the Arrancar was in. When he had seen Grimmjow just lying there in the middle of the road looking like a mangled chew-toy, Ichigo knew couldn't just leave him, even if they had been enemies once. Hell, maybe they still were. Especially not when he had noticed the car heading straight for Grimmjow. He had already been moving before he even realized what he was doing.

He had brought Grimmjow up to his room through the open window and dumped him on the bed - pushing his own, vacant body off in the process - before yelling at his dad for help. Isshin had promptly changed into Soul Reaper form and tried his best to keep the man alive with his rudimentary knowledge of healing Kido while Ichigo contacted Orihime.

His yelling had woken up his sisters, who in turn had tried to help in any way they could after hastily being explained what happened.

Exactly seven minutes later, Orihime had literally flown in through the still-open window - apparently she'd used her shield as a makeshift hoverboard - and had already gotten started on healing Grimmjow before anyone was able to recover from the shock of having a teenage girl seemingly drop out of the sky.

Which is how they had gotten into the situation they found themselves in now: Isshin and Ichigo both in Soul Reaper form, ready to strike at Grimmjow should he decide to attack, and both Ichigo's sisters, still in their pajamas, leaning against the wall that was furthest away from Grimmjow for safety reasons.

Ichigo threw a worried glance at them, knowing the this whole mess must have been somewhat surreal for the two. He had already told them both about his time as a Soul Reaper, so something like this happening shouldn't have come as a _total_ surprise, but it was definitely far from a normal way to start the weekend.

While on the subject of his sisters, Ichigo had noticed that while his own Spiritual abilities kept getting weaker as time went on, Karin's were only getting stronger. Ichigo knew that she had visited Urahara's shop on several occasions, but had decided not to meddle in her affairs. After all, she was the only one in this house that respected his privacy, so he reasoned he should at least offer her the same courtesy.

And it wasn't like Karin couldn't handle herself. If she somehow did get in over her head, he trusted she would know well enough to come straight to either him or their father.

As for Yuzu, he could only imagine how weird this had to be for her. Unlike her sister, she still had trouble seeing spirits. Through her eyes, the only people in the room besides herself were Karin, Orihime, Kon and Ichigo's unmoving body, which no-one seemed to be paying any attention to. Ichigo himself, her dad and Grimmjow were just blurry shapes to her.

Karin on the other hand, watched in amazement (and mild disgust) as the piece of rib that stuck out of the man's chest slid back into place with a sickening, wet pop before the puncture wound it had caused sealed shut.

"I'm almost done," Orihime panted. Ichigo could tell she had already used an incredible amount of energy; she may have been overextending herself here. "I still can't believe he survived long enough to make it all the way here from Hueco Mundo. He must have barely been able to breathe. His lungs in particular were in terrible shape." Kon walked up to her and handed her a clean handkerchief. She wiped the sweat off her brow and handed it back to him, uttering a quick 'thank you' before focusing on Grimmjow again. "I mean, even for one of the Espada, to be able to move with your internal organs damaged like this..."

A few more cracks were heard as bones shifted back into place and the last few cuts and bruises disappeared. The healing bubble then vanished and the two fairies returned to Orihime's hairpins.

"There. All done." She sat there breathing heavily, staring straight ahead of her with a glassy look in her eyes and looking rather pale.

"Hey, are you-?" Ichigo began to inquire worriedly. Just then, the girl tipped over due to sheer exhaustion, making Yuzu cry out in alarm. Ichigo quickly shot to her side and was able to catch her before she hit the floor. He gently pulled her back upright, draping an arm over her shoulders so she wouldn't fall over again.

Even that simple action already had Orihime blushing, so she looked at her knees to try and hide her embarrassment. At least she'd gotten some color into her face again. "K-kurosaki-kun! I'm sorry for making you worry!" she stammered out. "I'm just a bit tired, that's all. You can let go now!"

He chuckled at how easy it was to make her blush. It seemed that every time they touched, even if they simply brushed hands accidentally the girl's face would go red like a tomato. "Don't be silly. I'll help you up."

Blushing even more fiercely if possible, she slowly put her hand on his shoulder. She would have refused, but she just knew that if she did Ichigo would simply pick her up and carry her down the stairs against her will. She went with the less embarrassing option.

Yuzu and Isshin both made 'aaah'-noises at the gesture, while Karin just smirked.

"Oh shut up, both of you...", The teen muttered, a mild blush now decorating his own cheeks. Not because he was touching Orihime, but because his stupid, crazy family was making way too big a deal out of it. He was simply helping out a friend, he didn't see what all the fuss was about.

When he pulled her upright, he noticed how much weight she was putting on him. It seemed she had completely drained herself to save Grimmjow's life.

Even if his body was once again in perfect condition thanks to her efforts, it would take time for him to regain his energy. His Reiatsu was so weak Ichigo could barely sense it. He couldn't even begin to image what could have possibly caused such injuries to a powerful fighter like Grimmjow. His thoughts went back to Orihime when the girl's legs gave out a little. No way was she getting home by herself in that condition.

"Yuzu, is the guest bed ready?" He asked his sister.

"W-What? No! I can get home just fine, y-you don't have to go out of your way for me..." Orihime quickly stammered out.

"Oh no, you're not!" Yuzu quickly walked over to them and put her hands on her hips, a clear signal that there would be no room for arguments. "Ichigo's right, you're way too tired to go home by yourself right now! I'll go prepare an extra bed in me and Karin's room so you can spend the rest of the night here."

"But I-"

"Don't bother. You can't argue with her once she gets like this," his other sister piped up. "Plus, she's right. You should just stay here and rest up. We don't have school tomorrow so you can sleep in as long as you like." She walked up to the doorway. "Come on, Yuzu. I'll help you with the bed." They both slipped past Ichigo and Orihime, heading toward their room.

"Oh, my wonderful, considerate daughters! I raised them so well! Masaki would be so proud!" Isshin started bawling while pathetically muttering his late wife's name.

"Pull yourself together, Goatface!" When no reaction was given, Ichigo grabbed the nearest throwable object, which happened to be Kon, and slugged his father in the face with it. "Get over yourself and keep an eye on him!" He ordered his father. "I don't want him blowing up the house if he suddenly wakes up!"

He led Orihime to his sisters' bedroom and gently put her down on the bed that had been prepared for her. "Do you need anything? You can borrow one of my shirts to sleep in, since my sisters' stuff is probably too small for you..." he trailed off, suddenly realizing something. "By the way, why are you still wearing your clothes from yesterday?"

The blush that had been fading was now back in full force. She'd burst a blood vessel if she kept this up. "Well," she started uneasily. "I was trying out some new recipes with octopus and watermelon, but I must have done something wrong since I suddenly passed out after tasting it," she shamefully admitted. "I didn't wake up until you called me, actually. But I'll be fine, I'll just sleep in these clothes... I need to wash them anyway, I spilled some mashed tentacle on it when I fainted." She pointed to a large white stain with chunks of orange in it just below the collar of her blouse.

Ichigo silently vowed NEVER to accept food from Orihime ever again, even if the only alternative would be starvation. Starvation would probably be a less painful process than trying to digest whatever it was that passed as food to her.

Suddenly one of Ichigo's old shirts landed next to her on the bed, courtesy of Karin. "You can wear this for tonight, Orihime. Ichigo hasn't worn it in years since it doesn't fit him anymore, but it should be around your size." She walked up to her brother and grabbed the sleeve of his uniform, using it to pull him out of the room. "Come on, you. Give a girl some privacy!"

The redhead just chuckled at his sister's antics. "Alright. G'night, Orihime."

"Goodnight, Kurosaki-kun." She smiled weakly at him. Her face betrayed just how exhausted she really was. Ichigo felt a little guilty about making her go through so much trouble. The blue-haired son of a bitch that was currently occupying his bed probably wouldn't even give her so much as a 'thank you' either.

Karin let go of his sleeve once they were in the hallway. Right before she closed the door, she told Orihime not to worry, since she would 'make sure the perverts didn't get into the room' while she changed. It took a little while for Ichigo's sleep-deprived brain to process what she had said. "Wait a minute, perverts? As in plural?" He bowed down until he was at eye-level with Karin and glared at her. "That you're including Kon is a given, but are you implying that _I'm_ a pervert too?"

She just smirked at him, not backing down in the least. "Well, maybe you're not as bad as that stuffed lion-thing of yours, but you ARE a sixteen-year-old boy, so..."

"Why you little-" He was interrupted by the sound of the doorbell ringing, which confused both of them. What kind of a person would come to their house at four in the morning?

"Ichigo! Could you open the door?" his father's voice sounded from his bedroom. "I asked Kisuke to come pick up the Espada."

Of course. Urahara. Who else?

"This ain't over," he quietly muttered playfully to Karin before returning to his full height. With a few quick Flash Steps, Ichigo was at the front door. He opened it to reveal both Urahara and Tessai, the former wearing his usual green robes while the latter seemed to have simply opted to put on a coat over his nightwear.

"Well hello there, Kurosaki-san! Long time no see!" the blond greeted him with his usual goofy smile, not looking tired in the least. Knowing Urahara, he probably hadn't even gone to bed yet.

"Kurosaki-dono." Tessai bowed briefly, much more formal and reserved than his companion.

"Hey there Hat-and-clogs, Tessai. You guys don't waste any time."

The man shot him a grin while pulling his signature hat a bit lower, so that a shadow fell over his eyes. "Well, we can't afford to take it slow when you have an Espada in your bed now, can we?"

"Wait, how did you know he was-?"

Both men quickly stepped inside, ignoring his question. "Hey, Urahara!" He called after them, slightly suspicious.

"Relax Ichigo!", the man said over his shoulder, "I just sensed where the Reiatsu came from, it's not like I have hidden camera's in there... anymore." The last part was spoken significantly softer, but Ichigo had heard it loud and clear.

"Camera's? In my room?" He thought about that for a second. What could Urahara have seen him do in there? "URAHARA!" He snarled furiously, instantly going into Kill-mode.

The unlucky Hollow that had decided to show up right outside the house just then was instantly crushed by the Spiritual Pressure emitted by a very pissed off Substitute Soul Reaper.

"Calm down, I don't see what all the fuss is about. I mean, it's not like you have anything to be ashamed of." As if what Urahara was implying with that sentence wasn't already enough, the man just had to wiggle his eyebrows suggestively after he was done speaking.

If Tessai hadn't been so quick to restrain Ichigo, Urahara would've had his own cane shoved up his ass already. "Lemme go! I'm gonna kill him!" he roared.

Ichigo trashed and squirmed violently, even using both hands to push at Tessai's face in an attempt to break free and exact revenge, but the taller man kept him trapped in a vice-grip around his waist as Ichigo's intended target Flash Stepped out of sight.

"Please calm yourself, Kurosaki-dono! Those camera's were for your own protection!" Tessai tried to reason with him. "What if Aizen had sent an assassin into your bedroom while you were asleep?"

"Protection, my ass! I don't even wanna know what that freak was doing while he watched me!" He resorted to elbowing Tessai in the chest repeatedly, which had about as much effect as throwing pebbles at a brick wall.

"Urahara-dono would never do anything of the sort!" Tessai replied heatedly. "It was a very awkward matter for both us!" While such straightforwardness may have been an admirable character trait in a different situation, right now it only served to seal Tessai's fate.

Ichigo's face turned beet-red from anger and embarrassment (but mostly anger), which clashed horribly with his orange spikes. "YOU WERE WATCHING ME TOO? WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE?!" Furious at the new information, he kicked Tessai right in the groin, forcing the man to let go. He felt a slight sting of pity as Tessai fell to the ground and curled up in the fetal position; sobbing quietly to himself while trying to protect the abused parts of his body from further harm.

Deciding to ignore him for now, Ichigo ran up the stairs again. _One down,_ he thought to himself, his current expression making him appear more than a little unhinged. _Now for the other one_. He pushed open the door to his bedroom, already thinking up multiple ways in which he could exact bloody vengeance.

Once he was inside however, Ichigo was distracted from his objective. He saw Urahara putting thick, ancient-looking metal cuffs around Grimmjow's wrists. "Hey Hat-and-clogs, what are those for?" He asked suspiciously. Urahara may not have been anywhere near as bad as Kurotsuchi, but Grimmjow was still a Hollow. He didn't know what Urahara was planning to do with him. As the second cuff clicked shut, the metal briefly flickered orange, followed by Grimmjow's already weak Reiatsu completely disappearing.

"Ah, Kurosaki-san, there you are. These are Reiryoku-draining handcuffs. With these on, he won't be a threat to us should he regain consciousness. That way we won't have to watch him 24/7." Urahara looked around the room, seeming confused about something. "Tessai?" he called out, apparently just know noticing that the man wasn't in the room with them.

"Yes, Urahara-dono?" The sound came from directly behind Ichigo, startling him. He was sure the man had still been curled up in a ball downstairs just a second ago. Ichigo had to shamefully admit he had barely managed to suppress what would have been a not very manly yelp. He noticed Tessai was still slightly bent over because of the pain, but seemed perfectly fine otherwise.

"Could you escort our new guest here to the shop?" Urahara asked. The bastard seemed amused at Ichigo's obvious discomfort. When Ichigo finally got his hands on him, they'd have to wipe his blood of the walls.

"Of course, sir." Tessai walked over to the bed and effortlessly threw the incapacitated Espada over his shoulder.

"Alright then, looks like we're all set!" Urahara started waving his fan again, letting it cover the stupid grin that had found it's way back onto his face. "Pleasure seeing you again, Isshin. Say hi to the girls for me!"

Both men exited the room after Isshin said his goodbyes. He went to put his daughters to bed, leaving Ichigo to show the pair out.

"Don't think you're getting off easy, Urahara." Ichigo grit out once they were outside. "Now may not be the time, but as soon as I get you alone I swear I am going to kill you and I will _enjoy it."_ The last part was more growled than spoken, since Ichigo was incapable of unclenching his teeth due to the anger.

"I'll look forward to it, Kurosaki-san!" He flashed him that demented grin again, not helping Ichigo's barely controlled temper. Suddenly the grin was gone, and Urahara raised his head a little so that the shadow from his hat no longer obscured his eyes. "You should come by the shop later today. The Espada could have just gone straight to Inoue-san if he wanted to be healed, but he came to you. If he hasn't woken up by then, he may react if he senses your Reiatsu nearby."

The shopkeeper turned around and quietly regarded the incapacitated Espada. "If there's something out there that's capable of causing that kind of injuries to an Espada, we need to find out what it is. Of course, it could just be that a pack of Hollows ganged up on him, but that's rather unlikely considering how much the normal Hollow variety fears the Arrancar."

Ichigo's jaw had slightly dropped as he realized what Urahara was implying with that statement. It looked like the quiet he'd been enjoying these last few weeks may have just come to an abrupt end. He blinked, halting his train of thought in favor of going back to bed for a few more hours.  
"Well... alright, I guess. I'll swing by later today, in the afternoon. I'm gonna get a few more hours of sleep first, though." He didn't bother suppressing a giant yawn, as if to emphasize the point.

"Great!" The man smiled, already back to his usual self. "We'll see you later then. Good night, Kurosaki-san!"

"'Night."

Tessai bowed once more, almost dropping Grimmjow in the process, and suddenly the men were gone, leaving Ichigo by himself. He tiredly scratched his head as he went back inside, contemplating the night's events.

He locked the front door before going back upstairs. He only hoped none of the neighbors had woken up due to all the commotion. It would be pretty hard to explain why their front door had seemingly opened and closed by itself multiple times in one night. Just as he was about to go upstairs, his father called out to him from the living room.

"Ichigo!" He whisper-yelled so as to not disturb the girls. "Could you come here for a minute?"

Sighing tiredly, he turned around and headed toward the living room. Upon entering, he saw that his father had already reclaimed his body. He was sitting at the dinner table, waiting for Ichigo. "What is it?"

Isshin watched him intently, making Ichigo feel a bit uncomfortable. Just as Ichigo was about to run out of patience, his father started talking again. "I wanted to ask how your powers are holding up. When I sensed that Arrancar's Reiatsu, I got worried and was about to investigate, but then I sensed you all of a sudden using your Shinigami powers again. I nearly had a heart attack!"

It made sense for Isshin to be worried. Ichigo hadn't used his powers even once since the end of the war. Isshin had though that the reason Ichigo had done it now was to go and _fight_ the Arrancar outside. Doing so with unstable Reiatsu and not having tested his powers in all that time would have been far too reckless, even for Ichigo. He didn't know whether to be relieved or worried that his son hadn't fought, but _saved_ the Espada.

Said son rolled his eyes in response. "Don't be so dramatic, dad. I'm fine." He wasn't lying. After using the Final Getsuga Tenshou, Ichigo had fallen unconscious for an entire month. When he woke up again, Rukia had been there to tell him that what was left of his power would soon disappear, yet it had already been eight days since then and while his powers had noticeably weakened during that time, it was surprising to see just how slowly the process seemed to go. In his current state, he felt like he would even be able to activate his Bankai without too much difficulty. Using his Mask as well may have been pushing it though.

Isshin sighed tiredly. "Alright. If you say so." He got out of his seat and headed toward the hallway, saying goodnight to Ichigo as he passed him.

"Goodnight dad," Ichigo said while watching his father leave the room. He waited until he heard him reach the second floor before taking hold of the sword on his back. Holding the large, elegant cleaver horizontally in front of him, he carefully observed the blade.

This was the main reason he had tried not to us his powers. The blade felt completely empty. Zangetsu was gone. No matter how many times he called out to him, his Zanpakutou spirit wouldn't reply. He returned the sword to its place on his back. There was a certain finality to the action. Despite knowing it was impossible, a small part of him had still been clinging to the naive hope that Zangetsu wasn't really gone after all. Now, he knew for sure the old man was gone for good.

He eventually left the living room and slowly trudged up the stairs. After reclaiming his body from where it had been lying on the hardwood floor this whole time, he immediately went back to bed. He had a difficult time getting back to sleep, and it was only after an extended period spent tossing and turning that he realized why.

The smell. Grimmjow's, to be precise. That asshole had lain on his bed for not even a full hour and already his scent clung to the sheets. It wasn't even that it smelled bad or anything, it's just that it was _his_ smell. For some reason it annoyed Ichigo to no end.

Eventually, Ichigo did manage to drift off. Unfortunately for him tough, even in his dreams that blue-haired bastard simply refused to leave him alone.


	3. Chapter 3

### Chapter 3: Shattered Peace

Ichigo stood in front of Urahara Shoten, grudgingly staring at the entrance to the shop. Only now that he was already here did he realize that there wasn't really anything he'd be able to do.

 _"He might react to your presence,"_ Urahara's earlier words rang in his mind. ' _Yeah right,'_ Ichigo grumpily thought to himself. _'A guy in a coma is suddenly gonna snap right out of it just because I'm in there with him. He probably won't even know I'm there_.' He would rather still be in bed right now than out here, most likely wasting his time.

Just as he was starting to consider going back home and hope that this whole mess would simply sort itself out, the shop's front door slid open halfway. A blond head peeked out from the opening, without the signature hat for once.

"Kurosaki-san!" Urahara cheerfully called out as he fully opened the door and stepped into view. "I'm so glad you decided to come! Our guest hasn't budged an inch all night, I'm afraid," he pouted immaturely. "Perhaps that will change when he senses your Reiatsu nearby?" He looked expectantly at Ichigo, holding his fan in such a way that his eyes were the only visible part of his face. Seeing the man act all innocent only served to annoy Ichigo even more.

Either way, it looked like he wasn't going back home now. He started walking in Urahara's direction with a steely conviction in his step. He still had a score to settle, after all. Once within striking distance, Ichigo planted his fist firmly in his mentor's face. He was pleased to hear a loud crack when Urahara's nose broke.

Urahara yelped in surprise as he stumbled backwards before falling flat on his ass. Ichigo could certainly throw one hell of a punch."Ow! Wha' was dat for?" the man whined at him from the floor, clutching his broken nose. He looked like at Ichigo like a kicked puppy.

"For not telling me about the cameras," Ichigo bit out. "Wanting to protect me is one thing, but don't _ever_ go behind my back like that again." The teen gave Urahara a stern glare before briskly walking past him without a second glance. If he had looked back, he might have noticed the guilty expression on the man's face.

He made his way through the candy store, heading towards the door labeled 'private' at the back. After closing it behind him, he kicked off his shoes and headed straight for the spare bedroom that doubled as the infirmary. He had been in there himself quite a few times, sporting different but always potentially life-threatening injuries each time. As he entered the room, he was greeted by a familiar scene.

There he was. Grimmjow was lying on a futon Urahara had provided him with, not moving a muscle aside from the steady rising and falling of his chest.

Ichigo softly slid the paper door shut behind him before going over to Grimmjow's side. During all the excitement yesterday he hadn't really noticed it, but Grimmjow looked quite different from the last time he had seen him. His normally vibrant, electric blue hair looked greasy and lifeless now. It was a lot longer than it was the last time they had met too - not taking his Resurrección into account, of course. That had been worse than a freaking Super Saiyan transformation.

His hair now framed his face, no longer held up by hair gel. A few of the longer strands fell over Grimmjow's closed eyes. Ichigo also noticed the man had gotten a light stubble.  
Lowering his gaze to Grimmjow's bare chest, Ichigo noticed that Orihime had also removed the scar he had inflicted on the Espada during the war. He couldn't help but feel slightly relieved upon seeing that. He didn't like being reminded of having hurt the man like that every time he saw him, even if he had deserved it. Urahara's thick metal handcuffs were still in place too, keeping Grimmjow's hands bound.

The teen lowered himself to the floor, sitting cross-legged so he could continue to observe the man. Grimmjow didn't look anything like his usual self while asleep. This was probably the first time he had seen him without a sadistic smirk or angry scowl on his face, both of which had usually been directed at him. Right now he looked completely calm, like he didn't have a care in the world. Ichigo mentally smacked himself; he guessed it was only natural to look like that when you were in a freaking coma.

A loud scream coming from somewhere in the house startled Ichigo. He couldn't help smirking a little when he heard Urahara's yelling. It sounded like Tessai had just set the overbearing bastard's nose. _  
_

He turned his gaze back to the Arrancar before him. The Hollow Hole positioned where the man's stomach should have been had always fascinated him. How the hell was he even supposed to digest his food like this? Even Arrancar still needed to eat, didn't they? Ulquiorra's had been even more absurd for that matter; could you even live without a heart? Or did those organs simply shift to make room for the hole? Or maybe Arrancar's bodies simply functioned in a manner entirely different from a human's, despite the many similarities...

Looking around the room to make sure he wasn't being watched, Ichigo shifted so he was on his knees, and leaned over Grimmjow's body. He stopped once again to listen for any sign of Urahara or other residents of the house heading his way. When everything remained quiet, he slowly pulled back the blanket covering Grimmjow's abdomen and positioned his hand above the Hollow hole. Just thinking about the innuendos that would be made if anyone saw him right now already had him fighting off a blush.

Ichigo quickly pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind and let his curiosity get the better of him. The teen experimentally lowered his hand, his heart rate increasing as he did so. He felt a hint of excitement. He knew he shouldn't be doing this, but he just couldn't help himself. His hand finally reached the ground, which somehow made him want to laugh _qnd_ puke all at once.

So you really _could_ go straight through it. Ichigo remembered that NNoitra had managed to evade being gored by Kenpachi's sword due to the convenient location of his own Hollow Hole, but he couldn't just pass up the chance to see for himself.

Not entirely satisfied yet, Ichigo decided to try out one more thing.

He silently prayed to whatever god was out there that Grimmjow wouldn't wake up while he did this. He was pretty sure this technically counted as harassment. He stuck out one of his fingers, aiming for the black edge of the circle. This was probably a once in a lifetime opportunity to find out more about this, and Ichigo knew that if he didn't take it, this was going to keep bugging him for weeks. He gently poked the black stuff and quickly withdrew his hand. The teen checked to see whether his test subject was still asleep before continuing, and when convinced that he was, pressed his palm against the dark edge of the hole.

Surprisingly, it felt just like regular skin, except that it was much colder to the touch. Almost like Grimmjow's body heat just didn't permeate through that thin black layer.

Satisfied for now, he withdrew his hand and sat back down. He looked around the room, not sure of what to say or do. He was alone with an unconscious person after all. A person he wasn't even on good terms with. "Well. This is awkward." He looked at Grimmjow's face. "Can you even.. hear me?" He asked lamely. "Urahara asked me to come, but I'm not sure what I'm supposed to be doing here. Grimmjow?" He waited a few moments, hoping to get some sort of response. A groan, a twitch; hell, he'd be happy with 'Piss off, Kurosaki' if it meant he wouldn't have to be alone in this room with Grimmjow anymore. He sighed dejectedly when nothing happened. He knew this would be a waste of his time.

"Screw it," he muttered to himself, standing up. He dusted himself off and started in the direction of the doorway. Something felt a little off though. Curiously, he looked back at Grimmjow. The man had started breathing heavily, and his fingers were twitching. Somehow, this didn't seem like a good sign to Ichigo. "Grimmjow? You alright?" he asked uneasily. He slowly walked back toward the futon, suddenly feeling worried. Something was definitely wrong here.

His answer came in the form of Grimmjow's body beginning to convulse. "Fuck!" He quickly dropped to his knees at Grimmjow's side and grabbed the man's shoulders to hold him down so he wouldn't injure himself.

"Urahara!" He called out in alarm. "Get in here!"

Luckily, the shopkeeper reacted quickly. Accompanied by Tessai and Yoruichi, he burst into the room and the three of them gathered around the bed. Yoruichi helped Ichigo hold Grimmjow down by grabbing his legs while Tessai held his head still. Urahara used a small flashlight to shine light into Grimmjow's eyes. He was checking to see if his eyes would follow the light, but his pupils kept darting around in random directions.

"No response," Urahara muttered under his breath. "Tessai, try to wake him. The circumstances aren't ideal, but at least he's showing some activity now. We may be able to forcefully make him regain consciousness."

"Yes sir," Tessai responded. His fingertips, which he had placed on Grimmjow's temples, started to emit a green aura as he activated his Kido.

If possible, this caused Grimmjow's body to spasm even more violently. Ichigo was strong, but he was in his human form, while Grimmjow was a spirit. It was becoming rather difficult to continue holding him down.

While the handcuffs restricted Grimmjow's movements, they didn't leave his arms completely immobile. Ichigo didn't want to get hit in the head with one of those thick metal cuffs; he'd probably end up with a concussion at this rate. So, doing the only thing he could think of, he positioned himself so that his chest was on top of Grimmjow's, with the the other man's arms trapped in between them. It was a mildly awkward experience for Ichigo, considering their faces were just a few inches apart in this position.

"This isn't working" Urahara muttered more to himself than to the other people there. "Tessai. You can stop now. Kurosaki-san, could you move a little?"  
Ichigo complied, giving Urahara better access to one of Grimmjow's arms. The shopkeeper retrieved a syringe from within his robes and inserted it into Grimmjow's upper arm. The effects were nearly instantaneous: Ichigo could feel Grimmjow's struggling quickly getting weaker, before eventually stopping. Everyone in the room let out a collective sigh as Grimmjow calmed down again.

They all let go of him and sat back, glad it was over. "Well, that was unexpected," Urahara voiced what they were all thinking, waving his fan to cool himself. "I wonder what could have triggered such a reaction. Perhaps Inoue-san wasn't able to finish treating him? Isshin told me that she collapsed from exhaustion yesterday."

"No, that's not it," Ichigo cut in. "She said she was finished. She wouldn't stop until she was, no matter how tired she may have been." He had seen the look in Grimmjow's eyes when Urahara was busy with his flashlight. It was pure terror. "He was having a nightmare." They all looked at him with obvious surprise. "A bad one. It turned into a full-blown panic attack."

"I see," Urahara said, breaking the silence. The shopkeeper seemed to be feeling rather silly about missing something so obvious. He had been too preoccupied with checking on Grimmjow's physical condition to take note of his mental state. "Well, the injection I gave him should induce a dreamless sleep. That should offer him some relief."

"Makes you wonder though," Yoruichi interrupted. "What kind of a monster is so damn terrifying that it gave one of the freaking Espada nightmares?"

They all shared a worried look as they realized how right she was. Up until now, Ichigo had thought Grimmjow had just gotten careless and was overwhelmed by enemies, or had gotten cocky and challenged someone that was simply too strong for him. But for something to scare one of the most reckless Espada so badly it led to a panic attack? Ichigo had to admit he wasn't keen to come face-to-face with what had attacked Grimmjow.

"Anyway, we're going to need more information," Urahara spoke up. "Yoruichi, are you ready to take off?"

She nodded curtly before changing into her cat form, leaving a pile of clothes behind where she had been sitting. A black cat crawled out of the top she had been wearing just a moment earlier.

"Wait, where are you going?" Ichigo asked her.

"To Soul Society. I'm going to ask Soi Fon to help me investigate." Even after hearing it so many times, the low, male voice of Yoruichi's cat form still managed to startle him. "Whatever did this to our friend here needs to be found, before it becomes a threat to others. I'm sure the Gotei would be willing to help if we explain the situation. Although..." She looked at Grimmjow. "Perhaps we should, ah, _omit_ some of the details."

Urahara nodded. "Right. If the Gotei found out about us harboring an Espada, they'd be here to raid Karakura before we even knew what was happening." He turned to his assistant. "Tessai. The sedative I gave him should wear off in about thirty minutes. When it does, continue using your Kido to try and wake him up. He's our most valuable source of information right now, we need him conscious."

"Yes, Urahara-dono."

"In the meantime, I'm going to be making a little trip down to Hueco Mundo. I found traces of foreign Reiryoku on Jaegerjaques-san when I examined him this morning. Perhaps I'll be able to track our target down using my equipment." He tilted his head, so that his eyes were hidden by the shadow of his hat again, giving him that whole mysterious look. Ichigo was certain he did it on purpose. "I'm pretty sure that the Reiatsu belongs to an Arrancar, or maybe even a Vizard, but some of the values my equipment measured..." Urahara trailed off.

"Save the technical stuff for later Kisuke. We have work to do." The black cat wandered off toward the wall, putting her paw against it. Some white ripples appeared on the wall, similar to the effect you got when you threw a stone into a body of water. A clicking sound was heard and a Senkaimon materialized before them, taking up most of the wall.

"You're welcome to join me, Ichigo. I believe it's been a while since you've seen your friends. They've been very busy with the aftermath of the war after all." The cat sat down in front of the portal, wagging it's tail a little as it waited for Ichigo.

"Yeah, sure." He took the Combat Pass from his pants pocket and pressed it against his chest. His body slumped to the floor as his spirit was released, but Urahara managed to catch it before it suffered any damages. Ichigo rolled his shoulders, trying to get used to the sensation of being a Shinigami again. No matter how many times he jumped in and out of his body, the transition still felt weird every single time.

"Alright then," Yoruichi nodded approvingly. "Try to keep up." And with that, the cat entered the portal and disappeared from view.

"Later, Urahara. Take care of my body, would ya?" Ichigo followed, hastily entering the Senkaimon before it closed.

"Sure thing!" the shopkeeper replied with a grin while waving them off with his fan.

* * *

The trip through the Dangai was an uneventful one. They kept their thoughts to themselves as they traversed the dark, slimy tunnel. Ichigo knew that what had happened with Grimmjow just now would be on his mind for a while. Luckily, he didn't have much time to mull it over; with their speed, the pair reached the other side in record time.

Once they had passed through the Senkaimon on Soul society's side, they slowed their pace and leisurely walked between the throngs of Shinigami around them. Yoruichi jumped up to his shoulder to avoid getting trampled by the crowd. Ichigo was surprised to see a few random Shinigami waving at him or calling out to him. A few female admirers were even shamelessly pointing at him and giggling.

"You certainly seem to be popular around here," Yoruichi teased him from her spot on his shoulder. "When are you finally going to get yourself laid? Being the hero that took down Aizen does have its perks, you know."

"Shut up!" he snapped at her, his face bright as a tomato. "I didn't come here for that!"

"You really should loosen up a little. Don't want to die a virgin, do you?" she asked innocently.

"I'm going to strangle you with your own tail if you don't stop talking." He threatened.

Yoruichi huffed indignantly. "Stick in the mud," she muttered. He could _hear_ her pouting, even if she was physically incapable of doing so in her cat form. Her ears suddenly perked up as she sensed something. "Seems they already know we're here."

She lifted a paw, and Ichigo looked in the direction she indicated. Despite there being over a hundred Soul Reapers around them, he instantly noticed Renji's crimson red hair calling out to them like a beacon from within the sea of bodies. How Yoruichi had managed to detect his Reiatsu with all this interference around them was entirely beyond him.

"I'll go check with Soi Fon to see if the Captains already know something. You should go catch up with your friends... Oh, and say hi to Byakuya for me if you see him," she added mischievously. She jumped down from his shoulder, quickly disappearing in a burst of Shunpo.

And with that, Yoruichi was gone, only to be replaced by Renji shortly after. "Ichigo! Why the hell didn't you let us know you were coming?" He asked by manner of greeting, giving him a rather rough pat on the shoulder.

"Well, I wasn't exactly planning on it," He huffed. "Yoruichi just asked me to tag along with her if I wanted to... What's that look for?" he asked upon noticing Renji eyeing him suspiciously.

"Well, when you arrive unexpectedly it's usually not because you're bringing good news," Renji said accusingly. "So, what is it this time? Come to unmask another captain that went traitor? Maybe a major Hollow invasion that's coming up?"

"What, I can't just come over to say hi? You guys showed up in my room uninvited hundreds of times," Ichigo retorted, even though he had to admit Renji was sort of right. "Is it that much of a crime for me to want to hang out with you guys while I still can?" That last part had slipped out before Ichigo could stop himself. Damn. That was one way to ruin the mood.

Renji's face fell noticeably, slightly ashamed that he had forgotten about his friend's unstable Reiatsu. "Sorry. Didn't mean it to come out like that." he rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably. "Anyway, let's just go meet up with Rukia at her barracks. She should be back from her mission by now. Better head there fast," he whispered conspiratorially, "before Captain Zaraki shows up." He shuddered at the mere thought of running into that psychopath right now.

Ichigo smiled. "Alright. But something's been bothering me. How did you know I was here so quickly?" He asked as they started walking. It had only been a little over four minutes since he transformed into a Shinigami. Did Soul Society place a tracking device on him or something? He was on good terms with the Gotei, but he certainly wouldn't put it past them to do so.

"Squad twelve notified us that your Reiatsu had been signaled in the Dangai" Renji stated matter-of-factly. "Kuchiki-taicho told me to go find out why you were here and then take the rest of the day off so I could- and I quote: keep you the hell away from him." He grinned saucily as Ichigo laughed.

"The almighty, stick-up-the-ass captain Kuchiki actually said a bad word? You must be rubbing off on him." He thought back to the whole situation with Grimmjow's attacker. "Actually, this may just be some sort of a major bad omen." Renji shot him a questioning look, but Ichigo ignored him.

They headed in the direction of Squad 13's barracks at a slow, comfortable pace. Renji did most of the talking, telling Ichigo about the changes Soul Society was going through. Three new captains still had to be appointed, and though Renji himself wasn't quite ready for the job yet, Byakuya had started training with him after hours so that he would one day be worthy of wearing a White Haori too. Renji seemed excited at the thought of having his own squad, but would rather stay under his Captain's command for now. He still dreamed of surpassing that man someday.

Ichigo reluctantly had to admit he rather enjoyed the other man's rambling. He didn't see him nearly as often as he used to during the war, so it was nice to be able to catch up like this.

"So, Ichigo. Is there really no other reason you came here? You keep spacing out, man. Don't tell me you're not thinking about something."

Damn. If even Renji noticed, he wasn't being very subtle about this. "Alright, it's true that I need to talk to you about something," he admitted, "In fact, it's possible this could get pretty ugly. But I don't wanna tell the same story twice, so let's find Rukia first, okay?"

Renji didn't seem satisfied with that answer, but decided to let it rest for now. Normally he would've kept pushing his friend until he spilled the beans, but seeing how serious Ichigo was made him give in. The barracks weren't that much further anyway, he wouldn't have to wait for long. "Fine. I'll hold you to that."

The rest of the walk, Ichigo was forced to listen to his friend's tales about Byakuya Kuchiki, the best, strongest, most handsome captain of the thirteen Court Guard Squads. Okay, maybe that was overdoing it a little, but still. Byakuya seemed to be the only thing that was on the redhead's mind today.

"Oh, and yesterday he actually invited me over! Our training ran a little late, and we were close to his mansion anyway, so he just asked me if I wanted to stay for dinner. I didn't know what to do! I mean, I'm just a Rukongai street rat, I don't fit in with the Nobles... I figured I'd just stay quiet so I wouldn't embarrass us both, but-"

"Renji," Ichigo started, finally having had enough, "I'm happy that he's finally starting to act like a human being and that he's opening up to you, really, I am, but if you say Byakuya's name one more time I'm going to have to hurt you", he deadpanned. Admiring the man was one thing, but Renji was starting to get obsessed.

Renji scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. He had been rambling like a lovestruck schoolgirl this whole time, which didn't really fit his image. "Sorry. It's just... the man that I've been looking up to almost my whole life finally sees me as an equal. That's a big thing for me, you know?"

He sighed. Of course he knew; surpassing Byakuya was Renji's life goal, and his unwavering determination was one of the things Ichigo respected him for. "Yeah, yeah, I know. But with the way you can't stop talking about him, it's _almost_ like you have a crush on that captain of yours..." Ichigo began, grinning deviously. After being forced to listen to all that, he felt like a little teasing was in order.

Renji's cheeks reddened, which heavily diminished the force behind the redhead's glare. "Are you saying I'm into guys?" he grit out dangerously.

"I dunno, but I _do_ get a certain gay vibe when I hear you talk about ' _C_ _aptain Kuchiki'_ like that." Ichigo said innocently, taking extra care to address Byakuya by his proper title for once, like Renji kept on doing.

Renji's Reiatsu intensified slightly. "Why you little..." He gritted out from between clenched teeth. One of his eyebrows was twitching. " _I'm_ the gay one? I can't even remember the last time _you_ showed any interest in girls," he grinned wickedly at Ichigo. Somehow, the tables been turned. "You even had a girl living in your bedroom closet for _months_ and didn't try anything."

Ichigo couldn't believe what he was hearing. "A girl?" He retorted disbelievingly. "This is Rukia we're talking about!"

"Care to repeat that?" A sugary sweet voice sounded from behind Ichigo. "I didn't quite catch that last bit."

Ichigo gulped nervously. The positively feral grin Renji was sending him pretty much confirmed his fears. "H-hey there, Rukia!" he stuttered as he slowly turned around. Soon enough, the petite Shinigami came into focus. "Long time no see, huh?"

"Why Ichigo! It's been far too long indeed!" The sickly sweet smile she was still boasting told Ichigo he was in for a world of hurt. "So what were you talking about? Something about not thinking of me as a girl?"

"N-no! That's not what I meant at all!" He stammered desperately, already taking a few steps back as a precaution. "I meant that - I mean, what I meant say was - Oh fuck it," he said, giving up and awaiting punishment. A powerful kick aimed right at his face sent him flying. He bumped into Renji, and pretty soon they were both sprawled out on the ground, staring up at a smirking Rukia.

"Ow," was all Renji managed to say. He had gotten hit by Ichigo's full body weight, and was currently pinned down underneath said Shinigami. It was a good thing he had such a hard head.

Ichigo managed to right himself, rubbing the back of his own head as he did so. "What, no follow-up?" he joked somewhat suicidally when Rukia just stood there, unable to contain her smile.

"Nah. I'm in too good of a mood right now to let myself be bothered by anything you idiots say," she explained happily.

"Oh? Did something good happen?"

"I-" she started to say, pulling something out from her uniform, "just got one _hell_ of a promotion."

She was holding a shiny new lieutenant's badge.

* * *

"To Rukia!"

Renji's words were repeated by all the Soul Reapers that had gathered, accompanied by the gesture of lifting their sake cups in the air. Rukia herself smiled brightly at the people around her, slightly blushing at all the attention she was receiving. As soon as the news got out, the other lieutenants had decided to throw a little party in a popular, western-styled bar in Seireitei to celebrate her promotion.

"Oi, Ichigo! Why aren't you drinking with us? Loosen up, man!" came Renji's reaction when he saw his friend drinking water.

"Renji, I'm only 16. I can't drink yet, remember?" He was getting a little annoyed with people telling him to loosen up.

"But this is a party! Besides, that's only a rule in the Human World isn't it?" Renji reasoned.

Ichigo just rolled his eyes, deciding to ignore the other man for now. He leaned forward a bit, so he could put his arms on the smooth surface of the wooden bar. Captain Kyoraku smiled at him from his seat at the far left side of the bar before downing his own, rather large cup of liquor in one go.

Apparently lieutenant Ise had accidentally let it slip to her captain that there would be drinking involved, so Shunsui had promptly ran off to Squad 13's barracks and came right back with a reluctant captain Ukitake. Since their captains had shown up, many people from their squads had decided to follow suit, and from there on out, it had all sort of spiraled out of control.

Since it was rare for something like this to happen in the usually mundane lives of the Soul Reapers, the news had spread like wildfire. Any excuse was good enough for the Shinigami to get away from their problems for a little while. Of course, the rumor that a certain Substitute Soul Reaper-slash-war hero was there helped quite a bit in getting the female (and part of the male) population of Seireitei interested. What had started out with just a few people, soon grew to be a gathering of epic proportions: within a couple of hours, what seemed like half of the entire Gotei 13 had gathered in and around the bar where Ichigo and his friends were.

The barkeep was nearly crying with joy.

Things had gotten a little stressful when Kenpachi showed up, followed by the usual trio, but oddly enough the man wasn't in the mood for a fight. When Ichigo asked Ikkaku what was up with his Captain, the man explained that he had apparently tried out some new shampoo, which had unfortunately made his hair too silky to style it the way he usually does, so he had been moping around for the last couple of days. However, once they'd caught wind of the party that was going on, Yumichika and Ikkaku had pretty much forced their captain to 'get off his ass and go have some fun'. Yachiru had heard the word 'party' and instantly attached herself to Kenpachi, forcing him to attend since she refused to let go until he gave in.

When their eyes met, Kenpachi just threw an unenthusiastic glance at Ichigo and nodded at him before sitting down at a random table. His third and fifth seats were already talking to one of the employees at the bar, planning on bringing back as much alcoholic beverages as they could carry. Along with some juice for Yachiru, of course.

Toushiro had come in looking for his lieutenant, who had once again conveniently forgotten about the mountains of paperwork piled up on her desk. After realizing she was too drunk to even hold a pen, the boy had simply given up and started talking to the only reasonable person present - namely Ichigo. The young Captain had gotten rather used to situations like these over the years, so he knew it was all wasted effort.

Even Byakuya made an entrance, although he stuck out like a sore thumb between all the party-goers with his stiff attitude. Renji decided to take pity on him and laid an arm around his shoulders - obviously getting some liquid courage from all the cups of sake he had ingested - and dragged him towards the bar with the intention of getting him properly liquored up. ' _Good luck with that one...'_ Ichigo thought to himself as he and Toshiro snickered.

It wasn't long until Yoruichi showed up as well, heading straight for the bar with the objective of getting as high a dose of alcohol into her bloodstream in as little time possible, and annoy the crap out of Byakuya while she was at it. Trailing behind her like a lost puppy was Soi Fon. She was pleading with Yoruichi to get back to work, but all her complaints were brushed off. After downing no less than three glasses of hard liquor in a row, Yoruichi got a faint blush on her cheeks, and decided that it was simply too hot in here for her to be wearing so much clothes. A thick crowd of mostly male Shinigami (and Soi Fon) gathered around her within seconds, completely obscuring the dark-skinned woman from view. Luckily for the non-perverted Soul Reapers in the bar.

* * *

Before Ichigo even realized it, night had already set in. Looking around, he saw that captain Komamura had joined the party at some time during the evening, and was now talking animatedly with Ukitake. Captain Kyoraku lay face down on their table, having already passed out long ago. He was currently busy drooling all over the table. Upon noticing, Ukitake lifted his best friend's head and shoved a napkin under it before continuing his conversation with Komamura as if nothing had happened, making Ichigo chuckle.

It was certainly unusual to see so many of the captains letting go like that. They must have needed it after all the stress the war had brought them. The war. Fuck.

 _Grimmjow_.

What was he going to do about the blue-haired Arrancar? He obviously couldn't stay at Urahara's forever. Neither could they let him return to Hueco Mundo - Grimmjow was far too dangerous to be given free reign. Ichigo had intended to ask his friends for their opinions on the matter, but Renji seemed too busy hanging over Byakuya, who still looked as dignified as ever (Aside from a small, nearly invisible smile), and Rukia was being... well, Rukia.

She and Yachiru were busy making Chappy the Bunny drawings, which due to her alcohol-induced state were worse than ever. Which was saying a lot, actually. It was pretty amusing to see her like that. She even had the courage to talk to Captain Zaraki, telling him his now-silky hair looked pretty like that. Ichigo nearly spit out his drink upon seeing the intimidating ogre of a man look away with a hint of red on his cheeks and a smile tugging at his lips.

It seemed that he and Toshiro were the only ones still sober. If Hollows decided to invade right now, Soul Society was fucked. Although, if that did happen, Yamamoto would probably just burn every last one of the invaders to ashes. And right after he was done with that, do the same thing to the captains who had been too inebriated to do anything about it.

Suddenly Rangiku fell into his lap, snapping him back to reality. "Oh! Hey, Ichigo! Wanna dance?" It came out as a question, but she didn't give the teen much choice. Before he knew it, she had dragged him to the more open area of the bar which was used as a dance floor and started doing something that could only be vaguely described as dancing.

He threw an apologetic glance at Toshiro for leaving him like that, but the young captain didn't seem to mind. The boy did however bow his head in shame upon seeing his lieutenant's behavior. He didn't care how hung-over she would be tomorrow, he would make her finish every last assignment that was waiting for her on her desk if it was the last thing he did.

Ichigo stayed on the dance floor for a good twenty minutes, occasionally switching it up with some other members of the Shinigami Women's association who kept insisting he dance with them next. At one point, even Renji had come up to him and dragged him around the room in his own version of a Waltz. Ichigo wasn't planning on ever letting him live that one down. Especially not when at the end Renji suddenly bowed down and kissed the back of Ichigo's outstretched hand before running off, laughing like a maniac. A flash had gone off somewhere in the crowd, and Ichigo had the sneaking suspicion that the two of them had just become the November background for next year's Women's Association calendar.

He was enjoying himself and all, but when Rangiku suddenly decided to come over and hug him for no apparent reason, Ichigo felt like he needed some fresh air. Literally. Those things of hers had nearly choked him.

He slowly made his way through the crowd, but once outside, came to the realization that there were almost as many people out in the street as there were in the bar. Not feeling like wading through the endless mass of bodies, he jumped up to the roof off the bar and navigated his way through the Seireitei from there. He sensed Toshiro's Reiatsu a little further up ahead, and decided to head over there. The young captain must have gotten tired of all the people too.

He found him in a small park, just staring up at the full moon.

"Hey Toshiro," he said as he landed next to him.

"That's captain Hitsugaya to you." The monotone way in which he said it made it obvious he wasn't expecting Ichigo to actually do so. It was really just a force of habit by now. They could still hear the music in the distance, but it had dulled to become mere background noise.

"I should probably be heading home," Ichigo started. "It must be late, and I bet my sister's worried about me by now."

Toshiro nodded in understanding. "Do you mind if I accompany you to the Senkaimon? It is on the way to the barracks after all."

"Sure."

Together they set off, but they didn't even make it twenty meters before stopping dead in their tracks.

Turning around, they were faced with a great, green lightning bolt lighting up the night sky. It was rather unlike regular lightning - not just in that it was green, but also in that it traveled diagonally rather than vertically, and seemed to originate from somewhere on the ground instead of the sky. To be more precise, from the First Division barracks...

The pair didn't hesitate for even a second and quickly ran back in the direction they had come from, heading for the source of the lightning at top speed. As they came closer, an unfamiliar Reiatsu began pressing down on them, becoming stronger as they neared their destination. The Head Captain's Reiatsu could be clearly felt as well, which could mean only one thing, namely that shit had just hit the fan.

Thunderclouds started appearing overhead as they neared, quickly joining together to create a thick, dark gray blanket that blocked out the light of the moon. Even though it didn't start raining, bright green lightning now flashed in a rather large area around Squad 1's barracks, setting multiple buildings ablaze.

The Spiritual Pressure from several other captains could already be detected, with all of them moving in the direction of the Squad 1 barracks, though Ichigo and Toshiro would most likely be the first to arrive. He just hoped they would be in time. The Head Captain could obviously take care of himself just fine, but the Reiatsu pressing down on them made it clear that this was a threat to be taken seriously.

When they finally reached their destination, they couldn't believe what they were seeing. Most of the buildings in the area were utterly destroyed, while others were quickly going up in flames. In the center of the chaos stood Yamamoto, surrounded by a blazing inferno.

"Sotaicho!"

"Jii-san!"

"Stand back!" Yamamoto barked at them. "Do not interfere. I will handle this myself."

"You really should listen to him, you know." The voice came from right behind them, making them both instinctively jump to the side and draw their swords.

So this was the source of the unfamiliar Reiatsu. Before them stood a rather tall man with shoulder-length, messy brown hair and stormy gray eyes, wearing the standard Shinigami uniform. In human years, he looked to be around 19, maybe 20. He was holding a blade that was noticeably longer than the average Zanpakutou, but not quite long enough to be labeled a Nodachi. It was crackling with green lightning, in much the same way Ryuujin Jakka was currently engulfed by it's own flames. "You kiddies should just run off. Me and Yama-jii have some unfinished business to take care of," the stranger stated rather calmly, smiling serenely as he did so.

"The Hell I will!" Ichigo tightened his grip on Zangetsu. "Who are you anyway?" He demanded. Before the young man could answer his question, some new arrivals interrupted their conversation.

"Genryuusai-dono!" Komamura, excuse the pun, barked.

"Katsumi?! Is that you?" a very surprised Ukitake called out from somewhere behind Ichigo.

The other captains and Yoruichi appeared all around them in a flurry of Shunpo, most having already drawn their swords, some even releasing them as soon as they saw who their opponent would be.

"Did I just hear my name? Ah, of course! Ukitake-san, you'd remember." The young man now identified as Katsumi turned around and started walking towards Ukitake, seemingly without a care in the world. Rather strange behavior for someone surrounded by the most powerful beings in this dimension."It's only been like, what? A hundred and twelve years? How have you been holding up?" He asked conversationally.

"I've had better days," the white-haired captain bitterly replied. "Why are you here? Have you come to take your revenge on Yama-jii?"

"Of course I am," he replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "The bastard sold me out to Central 46, tried to kill me, and then sealed me away when he figured it would be too troublesome to finish the job," he hissed. Turning his head to look at something behind him, he added: "By the way, it's not nice to attack someone in the middle of a conversation, Shunsui."

Captain Kyoraku emerged from the shadows behind Katsumi, smiling wryly. "Still as observant as ever, I see, Captain Takahashi."

' _How the hell did he know he was there?_ ' Ichigo hadn't even noticed that Captain Kyoraku wasn't standing next to Komamura anymore. Then the next revelation hit him: ' _Wait, did he just say Captain?'_

"I may not know who you are or what happened between you and Genryuusai-dono, but I will not let you harm him! Bankai!" More flames erupted from behind captain Komamura, and his massive Bankai slowly emerged from them. "Kokujo Tengen Myo-oh!"

"Komamura-taicho, you mustn't!" Unohana tried to stop him, but it was too late. The giant's blade slammed down into the ground, right where Takahashi had been standing just a second earlier.

"Now THAT is an impressive Bankai." The strange man proclaimed, sounding vaguely... disturbed. He had dodged the blade simply by moving closer to the enormous samurai and was now right in front of it. "Let's see how it holds up against this - Hado 88: Hiryu Gekizoku Shinten Raiho." The massive beam of blue energy pierced straight through the giant's stomach, and Komamura cried out as the damage was relayed unto him as well: a hole opened up in his abdomen in roughly the same area, causing both the giant and its wielder to let go of their swords as they dropped to their knees.

The air itself smelt burnt. Ichigo couldn't believe the power behind that spell. And he hadn't even used an incantation...

"Ouch. Too bad it has such an unfortunate side-effect," he said to Komamura with a sympathetic expression. "Oh well. One down, eleven to go", the brunet almost cheerfully went on as he walked back over to the rest of the captains. The way the man could go from apologetic to cheerful in the span of five seconds, combined with the fact he didn't seem to be taking the situation nearly as seriously as he should had Ichigo suspecting that he wasn't entirely stable, mentally.

Kokujo Tengen Myo-oh was already breaking down into red particles as Katsumi walked past it. In the blink of an eye, several of the other Captains converged on the man from every direction. As they did, Unohana quickly cast Bakudo number 73: Tozansho around herself and Captain Komamura, shielding them with an inverted blue pyramid as she worked to close the wound before he bled out.

Ichigo and Yoruichi reluctantly stayed back with Yamamoto, knowing better than to get involved with the Captains right now: one of their own had nearly been killed right under their noses - this had become a personal matter. Well, maybe not for Kurotsuchi. That bastard probably just wanted the young man for his experiments.

Takahashi looked around the circle of angry captains, pausing when his gaze landed on the sadistically smirking Kurotsuchi. "What the hell is wrong your face?" he questioned seriously.

 _Now_ it was personal. Kyoraku was the first to move: he sunk into the shadow underneath him, disappearing from view once again while Ukitake jumped up high into the air, starting an incantation. Soi Fon disappeared in a flicker of Shunpo, creating over a dozen clones of herself all around the battlefield. Byakuya cast Bakudo sixty-one, -two and -three in rapid succession, immobilizing the former Captain by binding him with chains, spearing him with Hyapporankan and holding him in place with six rods of light that rammed into his abdomen. It looked like this fight was just about over.

"What, that's it?" the invader surprised them all when he shattered the six rods of light protruding from his waist with just a flick of his wrist, even as the golden chains around his upper body loosened and fell to the ground uselessly. He then easily Flash Stepped out of the way of Ukitake's Raikoho before the bolt could hit him, unaffected by the three glowing bars Byakuya's Hyapporankan had skewered him with.

Soi Fon's clones disappeared as the original appeared right behind him, stabbing Takahashi between the shoulder blades with Suzumebachi and causing a Homonka to appear. "Die!" She yelled out, stabbing the center of the black Hornet's Crest once again, but to everyone's immense surprise, nothing happened.

The man grimaced from the pain of being stung twice, but remained standing nonetheless. "'Death in two stings', huh? I remember hearing about that ability of yours when I was still a Captain. Too bad it only works when your Reiatsu is at least on the same level as your opponent's."

Yoruichi was unable to prevent a shocked gasp from escaping as she watched her former subordinate get struck down by a green flash of lightning. Apparently Takahashi's Shikai allowed him to rather precisely control where the lightning struck as well, and not just create it. The petite captain was breathing heavily; at least she was still alive, although it would be a while before she would be able to move again.

"That makes two," Takashi solemnly stated as he stared at Soi Fon. He seemed conflicted about what do with her. He probably knew she wasn't completely incapacitated yet.

However, that slight hesitation had given the captains the opening they needed. Kyoraku's blade suddenly jutted out of the shadow behind Takahashi, going straight through his calf and coming out the front of his leg. The young man screamed in pain as he dropped to his knee. The captains had finally managed to do some solid damage.

The opportunity was quickly taken by Kurotsuchi, who planted Ashisogi Jizo deep into the young man's back before distancing himself a little, leaving his sword there. "Bastard..." The supposed ex-Captain grit out. He glared at Kurotsuchi, and another bolt of lightning came from the sky to strike the mad scientist down. For some reason however, the lightning-bolt changed direction only a few inches above Kurotsuchi's head and was redirected harmlessly into the ground.

"Don't even bother trying to hit me with that lightning of yours," the sadistic captain gleefully spoke. "Now that I've seen how it works, it won't have any effect on me anymore."

"I see. Why don't I try this then." He raised his left hand with two fingers pointing upwards. It was the same gesture Aizen had used many months earlier. "Kurohitsugi."

Even the mad scientist hadn't been prepared for that. A look of shock could clearly be seen on his face as the walls of a large, black box erupted from the ground around him, closing him in.

"And that's three."

Once completely formed, sharp protrusions appeared on the walls of the coffin, lacerating the captain inside from all directions. The box then broke apart into wisps of black smoke, revealing Kurotsuchi, appearing to be unscathed. Well, for a second at least. Wounds suddenly opened up all over his body, reducing the man to a bloody heap on the ground.

"Bankai!" Two men spoke simultaneously, acting before Kurotsuchi even had the time to faint. In an unusual display of teamwork, Ichigo charged at the invader with all he had, with Byakuya acting as his backup. Ichigo didn't care about their stupid honor anymore. Three captains had just gone down easily; they were going to need all the help they could get.

The light from the fires seemed to dim as over a hundred blades rose from the ground in two straight lines beside Byakuya. "Senbonzakura Kageyoshi," he spoke, the blades separating into an uncountable amount of cherry blossoms, swirling all around the group of people before gathering around Byakuya and circling him like a violent torrent.

"Getsuga Tenshou!" The black crescent was fired at Takahashi with incredible speed, forcing him to block rather than try to evade with his leg wounded. "Danku!" the man quickly spoke, pain lacing his voice. The attack impacted harmlessly against the conjured translucent screen. Ichigo himself, however, easily broke through the weakened barrier with a powerful slash of his sword and headed straight for Takahashi, who still hadn't been able to get back up. The brunet made a slashing motion with his Zanpakutou as Ichigo neared, and a green ball of energy that had gathered on the tip of the sword was fired at Ichigo, whose instinctual reaction was to bat it away with his own blade.

Bad idea. Very, _very_ bad idea.

The orb exploded with the force of a bomb, electrocuting Ichigo all over his body as he was flung back in the direction he came from. As he sailed through the air, a torrent of Sakura petals rushed by.

"Gokei, Senbonzakura Kageyoshi," Byakuya spoke solemnly.

Ichigo was caught in mid-air by Yoruichi, who safely set him, as well as Soi Fon, down on the ground a good distance away from the fight. They watched as Byakuya's attack caught Takahashi in a swirling mass of pink. The petals gained speed as the orb became smaller, and eventually collapsed in on itself with a loud, oddly hollow sound. The explosion that followed was enormous: Captains Kyoraku and Ukitake, the latter carrying a bloody Kurotsuchi, fell back to Yoruichi's position to avoid getting caught in the blast. Unohana was even forced to put another barrier in front of the inverted pyramid she and Komamura were in.

The petals slowly fell to the ground around Takahashi, who still sat in the same spot, now bleeding heavily from cuts that had appeared all over his person. The glowing bars the sixth squad's captain had tried to immobilize him with earlier had been shattered during the attack.

"Damn... that hurt." Despite his injuries, he shakily got back up, using his sword as leverage. "I'm impressed... you've grown a lot, Byakuya-kun. If I hadn't used that shielding spell just now, I would have been dead for sure." He reached behind him with his free hand, pulling Ashisogi Jizo (which had returned to its sealed state) out of his body with a pained gasp as he looked at Byakuya. "However, it wasn't enough." He threw the sword in a random direction before bringing a bloody hand to his face. Dark-purple Reishi quickly gathered around it.

"No way... no fucking way!" Ichigo got up off the ground as he watched a Hollow mask form on their opponent's face.

Suddenly, fire raged up in a circle around the brunet, blowing the Sakura petals away. They swarmed towards Byakuya, reforming into a blade. "So you still have that accursed power?" Yamamoto had finally had enough. He walked through the only opening in the wall of flames, which disappeared as soon as he was through, locking both combatants in.

" **Well, look who decided to join in. I thought I'd have to defeat at least two more of your subordinates before you'd decide to get off your lazy ass and fight me yourself."**

The people that were still capable of doing so, jumped up into the air so they would be able to see what was happening in the center of the inferno. Multiple shocked gasps were heard as they saw Takahashi's fully formed mask. It was an unusually large one that covered even the sides of his head. Five spikes protruded backward from it, one from the top, two from eye-level, and another pair that followed his jawline. It was mostly bone-white, aside from a single purple line that ran from the tip of the lower right spike up to the nearest eye hole.

Ichigo didn't want to believe it. The mask was one thing, that could easily be a fake, but he could never mistake that creepy, double tone in the man's voice or the twisted Reiatsu pressing down on him that felt as much like a Soul Reaper's as it did a Hollow's.

Takahashi was a Visored.


	4. Chapter 4

### Chapter 4: Powerless

"What do you intend to do now?" Yamamoto's gruff voice boomed, clearly understandable even over the roaring of the fires that surrounded them. "Even you should realize by now that you can't win. It was foolish to take on all the other captains by yourself to begin with, but to try and fight me with such wounds is madness, even if you use that forbidden power."

Takahashi chuckled darkly in response. The sound was distorted due to his Hollowfication, making it sound positively eerie. The clouds above them slowly turned darker as the flashes of green lightning were replaced by dark purple ones. The texture of the heavy Reiatsu around them changed considerably as well, now feeling much more violent and menacing. **"Yama-jii, I'm disappointed. Did you honestly believe I'd try to fight the strongest Shinigami in all of Soul Society like this? I just needed to lure you out first, that's all."** If what he said was true, then he had only attacked the other captains because they had interfered in his battle with Yamamoto.

Ichigo's mind was still reeling from the discovery that there was another Visored even Hirako's group didn't know about - or perhaps they did, but hadn't told him for whatever reason - but what happened next was something none of them could have possibly been prepared for.

" **Shatter the sky, Hyperion!"** Takahashi pointed his blade at the heavens as he called out the release command. He was already using his Shikai, and Ichigo knew of only one other thing that required such a command. Thunder roared as electricity gathered in the center of the swirling mass of clouds, directly above Takahashi. From the maelstrom, a wicked purple bolt came crashing down, attracted to his sword like it was a lightning rod, and split open the earth at his feet. The hellishly bright light forced everyone to shield their eyes.

The thunder was deafening. Ichigo's ears were ringing, and the bolt of searing hot plasma had converted much of the oxygen into ozone. It smelled and tasted like Ichigo was breathing in fire.

Ichigo half-expected the lightning strike to have incinerated the young man, but he knew that would have been far too easy. Indeed, a deep, guttural breath could be heard, and a large silhouette slowly became visible as the light died down.

The violent Reiatsu weighing down on them became absolutely crushing. Combined with the Captain-Commander's own overwhelming Spiritual Pressure, it was almost too much for Ichigo to handle. He was lucky to have such a vast supply of Spirit Energy, but he could see how even a few of the captains were starting to be affected. He could only imagine what is had to be like for the regular troops that were still in and around the barracks.

With the bright light finally gone, Ichigo looked at where Takahashi had been standing. What he saw could not longer be called a man; instead, glaring at the shocked observers from behind its mask was a beast with pale white skin and glowing, purple eyes. The mask had enlarged so that it now covered almost Takahashi's entire head, leaving only one opening just above his neck. From there, black, bony tendrils fell down his back in a twisted imitation of human hair, reaching just past his shoulder blades.

The top part of Takahahi's Shihakusho had been ripped to shreds during the transformation, revealing a white, muscled chest with a gaping hole located where his Solar Plexus should have been. From the hole, two thick, black lines climbed up to each of his shoulders before creeping down his back, intertwining just below the neck and traveling further down along his spine. The lines narrowed and joined together as they went lower, stopping near the base of his spine.

His hands had grown to the size of watermelons; each one now seemed more than capable of crushing a human head. Both his finger- and toenails had been replaced by fearsome claws.

Ichigo involuntarily took a step back as the image before him brought back some memories he had been trying very hard to forget over the past few weeks. Most notably the ones of a mutilated Ulquiorra fading into dust, as well as Ichigo's own black sword sticking out of Uryuu's stomach. Both had been the result of him not being able to control his inner Hollow. The man standing before him, on the other hand...

 **"Much better** **,"** The rogue Shinigami spoke, cracking his neck. It appeared that all of his injuries had been healed during the transformation. While his Zanpakutou had disappeared, the clouds high above them had not. If anything, the sky seemed even more menacing now.

From what Ichigo had observed so far, it seemed that Takahashi was able to make lightning strike wherever he wanted it to with just his thoughts. That meant that any one of them could be attacked at any moment. Kurotsuchi had somehow found a way to direct the lightning away from his body, but unfortunately he was in no shape to aid them right now. All Ichigo could do at the moment was stay alert for any sign of danger.

 **"So Yama-jii,"** Takahashi casually spoke. **"Ready to get your flabby old ass handed to you?"** There was no way to be sure, but somehow Ichigo just knew the bastard was grinning savagely at Yamamoto from behind his mask.

Yamamoto merely huffed in annoyance, not seeming very impressed with his opponent's new appearance. "Even in that form, you were unable to defeat me 112 years ago. What makes you think you stand a chance now, youngster?"

 **"Have** **you finally gone senile, old-timer? I'm in control this time,"** he gleefully spoke. **"It won't be like then, when I was just a rabid animal going on a rampage. No. This time, you're going down,"** Takahashi sneered at Yamamoto, his entire body emitting a purple aura. Electricity crackled around his form intimidatingly. Ichigo didn't even know how the hell you were supposed to fight an opponent like that. You couldn't even get in close without getting zapped. Takahashi had become a monster. The stuff of nightmares. And coming from Ichigo, that was saying a lot.

Yamamoto's facial expression was unreadable. "What is this nonsense? Are you saying you were not aware of your actions the last time we fought?"

 **"Finally figured it out?"** He spat. **"What, did you actually believe I did all of that because I _enjoyed_ it?"** Whatever Takahashi was talking about, it seemed to be a sensitive subject. If the Reiatsu he was emitting was of any indication, he had gotten even angrier. However, Ichigo also felt something else. Another emotion, suppressed by all the anger and hate. Sadness, pain and... guilt, maybe?

More lightning came down from the sky. The captains all fidgeted nervously, but it didn't seem to be aimed at any of them. It just hit random areas and set some more buildings on fire, if they weren't already.

The young man took a deep breath to calm himself. The random lightning strikes stopped. **"It seems a lot has happened during my imprisonment,"** Takahashi said, changing the subject. Ironically, he sounded more lucid now than before he had taken on that monstrous form. **"I've been wondering for a while now: what could have possibly forced you of all people to use Itto Kaso?"**

Ichigo glanced at Yamamoto. During the Battle in Fake Karakura Town, the old man had sacrificed one of his arms to give Ichigo an opening against Aizen. Itto Kaso was an extremely high-level spell that used the caster's own body as a catalyst in order to create an enormous pillar of fire. Unfortunately, it hadn't been enough to kill Aizen.

Takahashi had been able to tell right away that Yamamoto had used that spell just by seeing his missing arm. There were many possible ways in which Yamamoto could have lost an arm, but he had immediately known it was because of that specific Kido. Combined with the fact that he had used some very high-level spells without incantation earlier gave Ichigo plenty of reasons to believe Takahashi was especially well-versed in Kido. Now that he thought about it, Ichigo hadn't seen him attempt to attack anybody at close range. He had always used either Kido or his Shikai's abilities. But now that he had transformed? Who knew what abilities this new form had given him.

The ex-captain waited for Yamamoto's reply, but it quickly became clear he wasn't going to get one. **"Alright then. Enough talking,"** He solemnly stated. He fell into a combat stance, radiating power. All traces of emotion were gone. The only thing Ichigo could still sense from his Reiatsu was pure killing intent. **"Let's end this."** The beast snapped it's fingers, instantly bringing a continuous stream of lightning down on the old man.

Just like that, the battle had begun anew, with Takahashi already having the advantage. The electric assault continued for a while, but none of the onlookers were able to do anything. Yamamoto's wall of fire was still there. Even if they tried jumping in from above, Ryuujin-jakka's flames would find them and force back anyone who tried to interfere in the battle.

Yamamoto was able to disrupt the flow of lightning and stop the attack by flaring his immense Reiatsu. Soi Fon, who had tried to watch the fight despite her injuries, succumbed to its power and fainted, but was caught in the middle of her fall by Yoruichi.

Komamura appeared next to Ichigo, probably worried by the increase in power of the Soutaicho. He was panting heavily, but seemed to be able to endure the massive power surge in spite of his injury. The teen glanced at the tall captain, noticing he was wrapped in thick bandages from the waistline up to his pectorals. Unohana was definitely worthy of the title of Soul Society's best medic; healing a wound like that under these circumstances and in so little time was impressive, to say the least. Ichigo could sense her moving around somewhere on ground-level. She was probably preoccupied with Kurotsuchi at the moment.

"Genryuusai-dono..." Komamura muttered. He seemed to be ashamed of letting Takahashi win so easily. He probably thought it was because he hadn't been strong enough that Yamamoto was forced to step in now.

"Don't beat yourself up, big guy. I don't think any of us could handle him alone," Ichigo tried to console him, patting him on his lower back. He would have gone for the shoulder, but it was a little too high up for Ichigo to reach. Komamura looked down at him, smiling wryly.

Meanwhile, the slightly singed Yamamoto Shunpoed away at a speed Yoruichi would be proud of, reappearing behind the transformed Vizard. "Hado number 33: Sokatsui." A huge blast of blue fire engulfed the man. The spell briefly mixed with Ryuujin-jakka's flames, creating a flare of vivid purple. The blue flames quickly dissipated, only to show that they had had nearly no effect whatsoever. The few mild burns that coated Takahashi's body started to heal right away, making him chuckle darkly at Yamamoto. **"So you really have gone senile. I've been fighting primarily with Kido pretty much since the moment I got my Soul Reaper powers. Do you honestly think you can win using the form of combat that I specialized in? And really, a level thirty spell? I'm offended, Yama-jii. My turn now."** He lifted his left hand, showing his open palm to his opponent. Dark-purple energy gathered in it to from a sphere. **"Cero."**

It was a good thing they had decided to watch from the air: the beam went straight through Yamamoto's infernal cage, destroying what was left of the First Division barracks in an enormous fiery explosion. Ichigo silently prayed no-one had been in there anymore. Although, if there were still people there, they would have already been suffocated by the insane Reiatsu by now.

"Do not worry," Komamura spoke upon seeing Ichigo look at the burning wreckage. "A Hell Butterfly informed me that Lieutenant Sasakibe evacuated everyone here to the fourth division as soon as this man appeared. The other lieutenants have returned to their own Divisions to inform the troops about what is happening."

Ichigo let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. Knowing that the Division members were safe at least was a load off his mind.

Takahashi clicked his tongue as he noticed Yamamoto wasn't there anymore. **"Damn. I missed."** An enormous fireball suddenly blindsided him, completely taking Takahashi by surprise. He fired a quick Bala to try and deflect it, but wasn't entirely successful: he was forced to use his left arm to block the brunt of the attack, with the result that the limb was partly incinerated. His forearm was rapidly stripped of its flesh and revealed pure white bone where the fireball had made direct contact. A lot of skin had melted off due to the intense heat.

" **Fuck, that hurt!"** Earlier on, when Takahashi had been hit by Yamamoto's Sokatsui he had already demonstrated that his Resurrección granted him some form of regeneration. This time however, the wound was simply far too serious. White, bubbling liquid started trailing down the wounded arm as his body tried to repair itself, but with such horrific burns Ichigo doubted it would be enough. There wasn't much blood, as all the major arteries had seared shut.

The Head Captain emerged from the wall of flame, Ryuujin-Jakka clenched tightly in his right hand. **"You're really starting to piss me off, Yama-jii! DIE!"** Katsumi made a fist with his good hand, which started crackling with electricity. He fired another giant bolt of lightning at Yamamoto, directly from his palm this time. The Head Captain attempted to dodge the powerful attack, but wasn't fast enough. Many shocked gasps were let out as the force of the attack propelled him backward, through his own wall of flames. The ancient man let out a barely audible, pained grunt as he smacked into a piece of wall that was still standing upright before sliding to the ground.

Unohana rushed off in his direction together with Komamura and Kyoraku, completely forgetting about Kurotsuchi. The cage of fire weakened for just an instant, which Ichigo, Kenpachi and Toshiro took as an opportunity to jump in and continue the fight while the Captain-Commander was temporarily incapacitated. Obviously the Head Captain was far too powerful to be downed by a single attack, but they couldn't risk giving Takahashi the opening he needed to finish the job.

The three men didn't bother holding back: Kenpachi ripped off his eye-patch, Toshiro activated his Bankai, and Ichigo called forth his own Hollow mask. Unfortunately Toshiro was at a major disadvantage here. There was barely any moisture left in the air, and the intense heat wasn't exactly helping. As a result, he was only able to partially form his wings and cover his sword-bearing arm in ice. Considering his entire Bankai consisted of ice, it was a minor miracle in itself that he had even succeeded in activating it.

Takahashi wasn't really paying Toshiro any mind though. **"What?! You're a hybrid too?"** He recoiled, seeming to be too shocked to fight back. Toshiro took the opportunity to restrain him with another Sajo Sabaku, reasoning he should stick to Kido while his Bankai was still forming. Massive golden chains briefly wrapped around their target and held him in place, but the electricity coating Takahashi's body disintegrated them in mere seconds - which had been more than long enough for Kenpachi.

The man gleefully attacked his target head-on, bringing down his blade with the full weight of his body behind it. Takahashi was unable to evade thanks to Toshiro's spell and he no longer had a weapon to block with. As a result, all he could do to defend against Kenpachi's attack was use his good hand to try and catch the sword, which left him with a very deep cut.

It was obvious Takahashi had been counting on his lightning armor to quickly take Kenpachi down. Unfortunately for him, he didn't know that applying logic in a battle against Kenpachi wasn't going to be of any use. Kenpachi's own monstrous Reiatsu protected him sufficiently so that when he sunk his weapon into the bone-like armor covering his adversary's hand, he was barely bothered by the electricity despite his own sword acting as a conductor.

Ichigo meanwhile, chose to approach from behind. While he wasn't the most strategic fighter, he was nowhere near as reckless as Kenpachi. Instead of attacking directly, he was preparing to fire a Hollow Mask-powered, fully charged Getsuga Tenshou from a distance. It was a good plan, but unfortunately Takahashi chose that moment to snap out of whatever stupor he had been in. He roared with fury and grabbed hold of Kenpachi's blade as he focused energy in his other hand, which had just regained some functionality.

No matter how tough Kenpachi may have been, a lightning bolt to the face was something not even he could just shrug off. Like Yamamoto, he was launched straight through the barrier of flames and out of the infernal cage, leaving Ichigo and Toshiro to face Takahashi by themselves.

" **Aaaargh!"** Roaring at the top of his lungs,the Substitute Shinigami struck at the beast before him with a Getsuga Tenshou coating his blade. Again, Takahashi caught the weapon with his bare hands. It left deep cuts, even taking a chunk out of the bone of his most damaged hand, but he didn't seem to care. Frankly, after all the attacks his hands had endured, there wasn't much left of them. A steady stream of the white liquid was flowing out of the wounds like blood, some of it dripping onto the ground.

Ichigo noticed that despite being in direct contact with his enemy, the electricity hadn't affected him. He glanced at his weapon. The entire length of his blade was still covered in black Reiatsu, even though Ichigo had stopped consciously channeling his Reiryoku into it. The Reiatsu appeared to be preventing the rogue captain's lightning armor from hurting him. Even now, was Zangetsu still protecting him?

 **"Why do they accept _you_?"** Takahashi asked with a small voice. The purple glow in his eyes faded. For just a moment, Ichigo could see the man behind the beast. " **You have Hollow Powers too, don't you? Same as** **me!"** He could see the confusion and pain in the young man's stormy grey eyes. **"So why?"** Takahashi's Reiatsu intensified dramatically. **"WHY DID THEY SENTENCE _ME_ TO DEATH?!"**

Takahashi suddenly took one hand off Ichigo's blade and wrapped it tightly around the teen's throat instead. Taking advantage of Ichigo's momentary panic, Takahashi ripped Tensa Zangetsu out of his hands and threw the black sword into the flames surrounding them. **"ANSWER ME!"** he roared, his eyes glowing bright purple once again.

But Ichigo couldn't answer, not while Takahashi's hand was clamped around his throat so tightly he couldn't even breathe. He could feel Takahashi's power surging through his own body, but it appeared he wasn't intent on hurting Ichigo. Not yet, at least. The teen dug his fingernails into the flesh of his attacker's arm in a last act of defiance, but knew it was useless. Ichigo couldn't do anything but stare into those intense purple orbs.

Hope briefly filled him as Toshiro's Reiatsu flared somewhere nearby. "Let him go!" the young captain yelled. He came flying toward them at full speed, his Bankai finally having formed completely. Takahashi turned around and quickly fired a Bala at him, making Ichigo struggle against his grip even more. Toshiro used one of his wings to block the attack, and the bullet of red energy harmlessly impacted against it. He raised his sword, ready to strike at Takahashi, but was was struck down himself before he could by an insane lightning bolt so large it defied the very laws of nature. Hitsugaya's expression was one of complete shock when the attack hit him. The ice coating his body was evaporated nearly instantaneously. As the light faded, Hitsugaya's body went completely limp.

Despite the lack of oxygen, Ichigo still attempted to yell out when he saw Toshiro fall. The young captain plummeted to the ground, landing just a few meters away from Ichigo. He wasn't moving aside from some uncontrolled twitching, but Ichigo could sense he was still alive, at least. Ichigo was furious at himself. How could he be so useless at such a critical time? His sword was somewhere within an inferno hotter than Hell itself, and even had he been able to move, he wasn't about to go get it.

This was his worst nightmare come true. So many people he cared about were in danger, and there was nothing he could do.

 **"Fool,"** Takahashi softly spoke as he regarded the fallen Hitsugaya. **"After all that effort you put into activating your Bankai, it only served to make you a bigger target**." He turned to face Ichigo again. **"Now then. Where were we?"** Takahashi growled threateningly. At this point, color was starting to drain from Ichigo's vision due to the lack of oxygen. He could hear a high-pitched whistling that was rapidly blocking out all other sounds. If he didn't get some air into his lungs soon, he was going to pass out. He stopped clawing at Takahashi's arm, but only because his limbs weren't responding to his commands anymore.

"Let... let him go. Please." Toshiro's voice sounded distorted to Ichigo, like he was hearing it from underwater. "He's not part of the Gotei 13. He doesn't... he doesn't have anything to with this." Just as Ichigo's eyes rolled back into his head and his vision went completely white, the pressure on his throat lessened.

He gratefully sucked in fresh air, wheezing as he did so. The annoying, high-pitched sound became less prominent as Ichigo's hearing came back to him. With every gulp of air, more and more detail returned to his vision. At first, he could only make out vague figures and shapes in tints of grey, but everything quickly became sharper. Color was a bit slower to return, but he was getting there.

 **"What do you mean, not part of the Gotei? He's a Shinigami isn't he?"** The transformed Vizard looked at Ichigo. **"A pretty damn strong one, at that. Definitely mid- to high Captain level."**

"He's a human", Toshiro whimpered from the ground. He barely had enough strength to raise his head. "His Reiatsu is already unstable; he'll lose his powers soon. He's no threat to you..." Hitsugaya tried to reason with him.

 **"A human?"** It was obvious Takahashi was hiding a look of surprise behind that mask. **"Well, that would certainly explain a lot..."** he began. He paused to think for a moment. **"Very well. I'll take you up on that, young Captain. Only..."**

A sense of foreboding grabbed hold of both Ichigo and Toshiro when Takahashi turned back to look at the redhead. **"I don't think I'm going to wait for his power to dissipate naturally."**

Ichigo could feel the electricity coursing through his body becoming more... violent, for lack of a better word. Up until now all he had felt was a strange tingling sensation, but it was rapidly becoming painful. **"Unstable Reiatsu or not, you're still a human. You'll be a wild card if I were to let you go like this."** Ichigo renewed his struggling. His situation still hadn't changed of course, so no matter how hard tried to resist, he knew it would be useless. That wasn't going to stop him from trying, though.

"No! Stop!" Toshiro screamed, but his words fell on deaf ears. The pain increased as arcs of electricity began traveling between Ichigo and his aggressor's bodies. The taller man looked him straight in the eye. The purple glow had diminished once again, revealing the grey of his irises. **"Sorry about this,"** Takahashi spoke softly, almost regretfully.

Then, there was only pain.

Pain was all his mind could register. Intense, mind-numbing pain that felt like every single nerve ending in his body was on fire. Takahashi was sending thousands of volts of electricity through his body, and he couldn't do anything to resist. If this went on for much longer, Ichigo feared he wouldn't be able to hang on to his sanity.

After what felt like an eternity of torture, something deep inside of Ichigo, at the very core of his being, finally snapped. The pain lessened. He became vaguely aware of screaming. His own screaming. Funny, he didn't remember doing that.

He was unceremoniously thrown to the floor, next to Toshiro. His Shinigami uniform was rapidly turning stark white. Through sheer force of will, he urged himself to stop screaming despite the painful spasms wracking his entire body. He clenched his teeth as hard as he could, but some muffled sobs still managed to get through. He only realized he was crying when he felt the moisture on his cheeks.

"Kurosaki! Kurosaki!" He could see Toshiro hovering above him, looking extremely worried. "Ichigo!" Hitsugaya held his arms down to stop them from flailing around. Ichigo still hadn't regained full control of his motor functions.

 **"Now then... Where is he?"** Takahashi muttered to himself. He was looking around the cage of fire, but didn't notice the curtain of flames briefly parting behind him. Hearing a furious roar from behind him, Takahashi quickly turned in the direction of the sound. His reaction time was actually pretty damn good, but no-one could out-speed the Goddess of Flash. Yoruichi's kick hit him hard in the side of his head and sent him flying. Not wasting any time, Yoruichi Shunpoed over to Ichigo and Toshiro, picked them both up, and exited the combat area again through a new opening in the wall of flame.

Yamamoto watched them as they came out of his fiery cage, looking a bit worse for wear himself. There was a large, red mark in the center of his chest where he had been hit by the lightning. Unohana seemed to have already gone back to Kurotsuchi's side to continue treating him. "How are they?" the Captain Commander asked Yoruichi.

"Alive," was all she said in response.

Yamamoto nodded, understanding the severity of their injuries. "Prepare yourselves," he ordered the captains with authority lacing his voice. Everyone that could still fight dropped into a battle-ready stance at his words. Yamamoto raised his hand, before gently lowering it again. At his command, the flames receded. The roaring fire was extinguished, leaving an eerie silence in its wake.

Takahashi had just managed to get back to his feet. He looked contemptuously at Yamamoto and Yoruichi, locking his dislocated jaw back into place. His mask was visibly cracked where Yoruichi had landed a hit on him. For just a moment, nobody dared to make a move. Saying the atmosphere was heavy was probably the understatement of the millennium. It was Byakuya's calm voice that cut through the silence. "Bakudo number 75: Gochutekkan." Five linked steel pillars fell from the sky and landed around Takahashi, locking him in.

" **No incantation? Impressive, Byakuya-kun."** He spoke, turning to look at the raven-haired Captain. Byakuya was supporting a heavily dazed Kenpachi, but somehow managed to look as dignified as he always did, even with that behemoth of a man hanging over his shoulder. Instantly, bright purple lightning came down from the sky, obliterating the five pillars with a cacophony of thunder. However, a level seventy spell seemed to be able to hold him longer than the others had, and also took a lot more effort on Takahashi's part to free himself from. The lightning he had called down then gathered in his hand, which he fired at Yamamoto in a rather small, but incredibly potent lightning bolt. Or so he thought.

"Sogyo no Kotowari." Ukitake appeared in front of his teacher, using his Shikai's ability to absorb the blast.

 **"Damn!"** Was all Takahashi managed to get out in response. He saw his own attack being redirected at him, and just like Yamamoto, he was unable to evade in time. He was flung away a good fifty meters before roughly coming in contact with the ground. The ex-captain slid to a stop and struggled to regain his footing. However, Yoruichi wasn't about to give him a chance to so. Fueled by her anger for what he had done to Ichigo, she dashed toward her target at a speed no ordinary person could ever even hope to match.

With her Shunko not only strengthening her attacks, but also protecting her from Takahashi's lightning armor she whaled on her target mercilessly. Her punches and kicks were so fast even the captains couldn't follow them all. With a bestial roar, she slammed Takahashi's body into the ground with one final, unbelievably destructive punch. The ground around the two combatants cracked, pieces of debris and dirt flying everywhere. Yoruichi wisely chose to use that cloud of dust to escape. She had taken her revenge, she wasn't going to risk getting herself killed by staying near Takahashi for any longer than she needed to.

The onlookers watched for any sign of an incoming counterattack, but nothing happened. Not one to take any chances, Captain Kyoraku moved in. "Bushogoma!" The whirlwind he created with his Zanpakuto blew away the obscuring cloud. It was a good thing Captain Kyoraku had reacted so fast.

Takahashi's Resurrección was failing. His mask was quickly crumbling, as was his Hierro. Pieces broke off from the mass of tentacles and revealed the brown hair underneath. The pieces shattered as they fell to the ground, quickly disappearing into wisps of black smoke.

What was worrying them however, was the Garganta Takahashi had formed while he was hidden from view. "No!" Many voices cried out as one, but it was too late. Yoruichi, by far the fastest among them, only managed to rip out some of his hair just before the Garganta closed. He was gone. No grand speech where he swore to return and get his revenge. No flashy technique to distract them while he made his escape. He just took the first opportunity he got and hightailed it out of there.

The captains finally lowered their Reiatsu back to manageable levels as they realized the fight was over. Even though none of the captains had been killed or permanently incapacitated - not even Kurotsuchi - this was undeniably the Gotei's loss. Ichigo's vision started to blur when the adrenaline finally wore off. He was pretty sure Yoruichi and Ukitake had gently picked him and Toshiro up and carried them away, but he couldn't make out what the white-haired captain was saying to them. From that point on, everything was blank in his mind.

* * *

Ichigo felt nauseous. His body ached all over, like he had gotten hit by a freight train. One that was on fire. It even hurt just to breathe.  
When he wondered what could have caused him to end up in such a condition, everything that had happened came rushing back all at once. The influx of memories made him groan out loud. His head pounded. At least now he knew why everything hurt.

He experimentally opened his eyes. For a second, he thought something was wrong with them. He blinked, hoping his vision would go back to normal by doing so. Then he remembered how Orihime's Soten Kisshun always cast an orange glow on everything you saw while inside of the bubble. Some people seemed to be talking not too far away.

Glancing to his left, Ichigo noticed Grimmjow lying only a few feet away from him on his own futon. It seemed he was back at Urahara's. With tremendous effort, he turned his head the other way to see Orihime. She had her eyes closed, and looked like she was concentrating. "Orihime..." he rasped out. The sound of his own voice surprised him.

"Kurosaki-kun!" Lots of movement could be heard following Orihime's cry. The paper door was hastily slid open, and within seconds, all his human friends as well as Urahara and Yoruichi were gathered around him.

"How are you feeling, Kurosaki-san?" The shopkeeper inquired with a worried expression.

"Like crap. What did you expect?" he managed to croak out hoarsely. "Can I get some water?"

Chad quickly came closer and helped his friend sit upright before holding a glass of cold water to his lips. Ichigo thankfully gulped down every last drop of the liquid.

Urahara took off his hat, looking regretfully at Ichigo. "I'm deeply sorry, Kurosaki-san. This is all my fault. I came across Takahashi in Hueco Mundo, and I immediately fled once I realized who he was. He must have known I would warn the Gotei 13 about him, so he took off to Soul Society right away, while he still had the element of surprise." He lowered his gaze. "I should have known better. If I had sent a message and kept him busy for a while-"

"Urahara. Stop," Ichigo said, his voice already a lot firmer now that he had rehydrated. "Don't try to take the blame for this. It's not like you." Remembering the reason Urahara had gone to Hueco Mundo in the first place, it wasn't hard for Ichigo to put two and two together. "So, does that mean he's the one who attacked Grimmjow?"

"Most likely, yes," the man affirmed. "He was probably training in Hueco Mundo to gain control over his Resurrección. There were traces of his Reiatsu everywhere, which is how I was able to track him down so easily. Jaegerjaquez-san most likely just happened to cross paths with him."

Ichigo absently nodded. "How long have I been out?"

"About six hours. It's six thirty in the morning right now. We could only transfer you back here about twenty minutes ago. The Senkaimon got hit by lightning pretty badly", Urahara explained when he saw the question forming on the teen's lips. "It is one of the highest points in Soul Society, after all. It took the Kido Corps a lot of effort to fix it. Lieutenant Isane kept you stable until Inoue-san was able to heal you."

"I see." He took a deep breath, steeling himself. "Urahara... What about my Shinigami powers?" There it was. The inevitable question they had all been dreading. Everyone but Urahara looked away. His friends' solemn silence confirmed his suspicions. Urahara bit his lip, clearly uncomfortable that he would have to be the one to break it to him. "He did too much damage to your Spiritual body. Orihime can heal the wounds, but your powers won't come back. You still have some Reiryoku left so you'll still be able to see spirits, but... I'm afraid that too will be gone by the end of the week." Urahara finished sadly. It was quiet for a few seconds.

"Well, I knew it was gonna happen eventually," Ichigo started. He gestured to his best friend that he was alright now, so Chad let go of his shoulder and sat back down on the floor. Upon seeing everyone act so depressed, Ichigo tried to lift the mood by smiling, although the smile didn't quite manage to reach his eyes. "It's alright guys, I was prepared for this. I'm just happy I got as much time as I did."

He didn't convince any of them, of course, but they decided to go along with it for now. After all, the teen deserved a break after what he had gone through.

"There. All done, Kurosaki-kun." The the orange bubble around him disappeared as Orihime recalled her fairies.

"Thanks, Orihime."

Seeing how the room threatened to fall into an awkward silence again, Urahara distracted everyone by quickly changing the topic. "He used be the Captain of Squad Three." Upon receiving confused looks, Urahara elaborated on his previous statement. "Takahashi. He was a Captain for 13 years until the central 46 ordered him to be executed... on account of obtaining Hollow powers. From what I know, it appears he was a naturally-occurring Vizard, like Kurosaki-san. He hid it pretty well all that time."

"Naturally-occurring Vizard?" Ishida asked incredulously. "Does that mean-?"

Urahara sighed deeply, showing just how tired he really was at the moment. Knowing him, he had probably spent what was left of the night preparing a counteroffensive against their newest enemy. "Yes. It's most likely that he gained his powers while he was still alive. I'm not sure how, but it's the only reasonable explanation I can offer at this time."

"Is that why he's so strong?" Ichigo asked. "Because he was a hybrid, like me?"

"Yes. Which explains why it's forbidden for a Shinigami to transfer their powers to a human; they can gain immense power in a very short amount of time. I mean, just look at yourself, Kurosaki-san: less than a month after awakening your powers, you were able to go toe-to-toe with some of Soul Society's strongest Captains and win. A normal Shinigami would have to train for hundreds of years to reach that level."

"Urahara," Ishida interrupted. "You said the Central 46 ordered the Gotei to execute him. So why is he still alive?"

"I'm still trying to piece the full story together, Ishida-kun. Ukitake-taicho said he would contact me sometime today, after things settle down in the Seireitei. I'll let all of you know what I find out."

The conversation was interrupted by Rukia appearing in the doorway, looking like an absolute wreck. Her hair stuck out at awkward angles, she had very noticeable bags under her eyes and even her shiny new Lieutenant's badge wasn't attached properly to her upper arm. Urahara clearly wasn't the only one who hadn't gotten any sleep tonight.

"Kuchiki-san, are you-"

"I'm fine, Orihime." The way she snapped at her friend like that made it quite clear that she was anything BUT fine. The orange-haired girl looked down at the floor, not having expected the reaction. Rukia's features turned slightly apologetic, but she was too stressed out to really care at the moment. "How about you, Ichigo?"

"Still alive, if that's what you mean." Her tired eyes roamed over his figure. She obviously noticed the now-white Soul Reaper uniform and the absence of Zangetsu, but didn't comment on it.

"How are things on your side?"

Rukia slumped to the floor pathetically, looking like she could pass out at any moment. "Soul Society is in absolute chaos. The Head Captain is taking charge of everything despite Unohana-taichou's protests, but it won't be long before he collapses if he goes on like this. Kurotsuchi was a bloody smear on the ground by the time Squad 4 got to him, even with Unohana looking after him, so he'll be in intensive care for the next few weeks-" None of them so much as raised their eyebrows when they heard about Kurotsuchi's condition. Ishida didn't even attempt to hide his satisfaction and was smiling rather smugly.

"-Which leaves squad 12 without a captain," Rukia continued, pointedly ignoring Ishida. "Ukitake-taichou was asked to take over command of their division in the meantime, and that means me and the third seats have even more work to deal with." She cupped her face in her hands, looking more tired than Ichigo had ever seen her. "Squad 4 has it worst of all, though. They're being overrun by injured people. Apparently some idiots panicked and started fighting among themselves during the attack. Not only that, but Hollows took advantage of the shield being weakened by the lightning storm and broke into the Seireitei. That definitely added to the list of injured people. Unohana-taicho even had to ask for extra healers from other divisions. Captain Komamura should also be in bed with a wound like that, but he insisted on staying with his division. He didn't want to leave them alone while things are this hectic."

She took a deep breath before continuing her rant. "As for Squad one's barracks; they're completely gone. The Second Division acts as Soul society's base of operations for now. It's going to take weeks, if not months to fix everything that was destroyed by that damn lightning." It was only then that her gaze finally landed on the Espada. "What the hell?!" She quickly jumped to her feet and attempted to draw her Zanpakutou, but was stopped by Yoruichi. She had materialized behind her with a quick Flash Step. "Chill. We got him restrained and he's still unconscious. He's no threat to anyone right now."

"What is he doing here? I thought he was dead!" She accusingly pointed a finger at Ichigo. "You said he was dead!"

He held up his hands defensively. "No I didn't! I said that I _thought_ he was dead, I left him there after Orihime got kidnapped by that other Espada!" He felt a bit ashamed after admitting he had left a dying man behind like that. "Besides, the whole reason I even came to Soul Society was to talk to you about all this! I didn't exactly get the chance to do so, especially when that _thing_ showed up," he bit out.

Ichigo threw off his sheets and got up, padding towards his body that was propped up in a corner. "What are you doing, Kurosaki?" Ishida asked while he reclaimed it.

"Going out for a walk. I need some fresh air."

"Do you want us to join you?" Orihime asked with a small voice.

"Do whatever you want." He accepted a spare coat from Urahara and buttoned it up as he walked towards the door. He noticed his friends were all following him, being the faithful companions they were. Chad, who always had his back... Orihime, the... _eccentric_ , easily excitable girl he'd come to think of as a sister... Rukia, the crazy ghost-girl who had spent half a year living in his bedroom closet... Even Ishida, the stuck-up prick. The guy was the textbook fucking definition of a Tsundere.

Thinking about it like that, Ichigo realized that aside from maybe Chad, every single one of his friends was a complete nutcase.

Ichigo loved them all to death. Not that he would ever admit it aloud.

Once outside, they just stalked off in a random direction, quietly conversing among themselves. Ichigo just nodded or grunted in acknowledgment when they said something to him, not feeling very talkative at the moment.

After a good ten minutes of walking aimlessly, Ichigo noticed that his feet had carried him toward the playground in the park. His parents, especially his mom, had brought him there every so often to play when he was a kid. Feeling nostalgic, Ichigo took a seat on one of the swings and gently rocked himself back and forth. Orihime took the one next to him, copying his movements.

"Ichigo", Rukia started after a few rather uneventful minutes, "I should get back to Soul Society. Ukitake-taicho said I could take the rest of the morning off, but I know he's just being nice. We're terribly understaffed as it is."

"Alright... Hey Rukia, wait a second!", he called after her when she started to leave. "Don't let Soul Society know about Grimmjow yet, alright? I mean, we're not sure what to do with him yet, but if Central 46 finds out about him..." he trailed off, knowing she would understand.

Soul Society's government wasn't exactly pro-Arrancar. They'd probably torture him for information. Then, after they got everything useful out of him, he would likely be given to Kurotsuchi for research purposes - which could also be seen as torture. And finally, when he was of no use to them anymore, they might just have him tortured for the fun of it before eventually putting him out of his misery. No, letting the Seireitei know about Grimmjow was not a good idea.

She nodded, albeit hesitantly, and stalked off toward the edge of the playground before using her Zanpakutou to open a portal. She gave everyone a weak smile and a wave as the gateway shut, and then she was gone.

After her departure, Chad and Ishida said their goodbyes as well. It was only just past six in the morning after all, and there wasn't anything for them to do at the moment. It was better to keep their energy up for when they would be needed. Orihime decided to stay with him however, even though they didn't say a single word to each other for a very long time. She just patiently sat there as he mulled over his thoughts, silently showing her support.

After a while Ichigo looked up at her, smiling a bit awkwardly. "Thanks for... you know. Staying."

She smiled back at him. _That's what friends are for._

She didn't need to say it out loud. They knew each other well enough for that by now. Ichigo loved her and cared deeply for her, but not in a romantic way. He had already discovered that long ago. He wasn't sure how Orihime felt about him - he was admittedly rather thick-headed about those things - but he just couldn't picture himself in a relationship with her. To Ichigo, it would be like dating one of his sisters.

Although, that wasn't _quite_ right either. It was an overprotective, 'older-brother' kind of love he had for his sisters. Orihime was, well... Orihime. They had both been outcasts. They had both been bullied because of their hair. They had both lost someone very dear to them. And they both cared deeply for their friends. They were very similar in many ways, and Ichigo felt like he could tell her anything. Although he rarely did so, he was far too stubborn and proud for that. She usually had to drag it out of him when she noticed something was wrong.

They both gasped in surprise as Ichigo's ring tone snapped them out of their reveries. The teen pulled the device out of his pants pocket and held it to his ear.

"Hello?"

"Kurosaki-san!" Urahara's voice blared from the speaker.

"Urahara? How'd you get my number?" Loud background noise could be heard on the shopkeeper's end, making Ichigo wonder just what the hell was going on back at the store.

"Could you get back to the shop, please? Your presence would be greatly appreciated." Something crashed to the floor and shattered into a billion pieces by the sound of it. A gruff, male voice was heard arguing loudly with Tessai over something.

"Uh, sure, but what-"

"See you soon, then!" A man screamed just as Urahara was about to hang up. "Oh no... Tessai, quick, bind him!"

"Bakudo number sixty-one, Rokujo- AAH!"

"Don't even think about it, you motherfu-" Three short beeps followed as the line was cut off.

Ichigo and Orihime looked at each other. They knew who that voice belonged to. Not wasting another second, they jumped off of the swings and sprinted towards Urahara Shoten. Luckily the park wasn't very far away from the shop. Many passersby turned their heads at the two teenagers as they ran by them with incredible speed.

They busted through the front door of the shop, not bothering to close it behind them and headed straight towards the room where all the noise was coming from. They slid open the paper door... to reveal one of the weirdest scenes they had ever laid eyes on.

Yoruichi was shamelessly sprawled out on the floor, her hair wet from a recent shower, and wearing only a pair of old, blue jeans and a black bra that left very little to the imagination. She was laughing very loudly at Urahara, who pouted at Ichigo upon his arrival. In his hands, he held the charred remains of his favorite white-and-green-striped hat. The room was completely wrecked: pieces of glass and furniture were everywhere, tatami mats were ripped from the floor and a large, still smoking burn mark could be spotted on one of the walls.

That wasn't what drew Ichigo's attention, however. In the center of the devastation, a mildly injured Tessai was bent over another man, pinning him to the ground.

"Get off of me, you freak!" Sky-blue hair spilled out on the floor around the man's head as he attempted to push Tessai away. The handcuffs he was still wearing made it virtually impossible for him to do so, so he decided to knee Tessai in a rather sensitive area instead. The poor man fell to the floor clutching the abused body parts for the second time in less than twenty-four hours. The blue-haired man got to his feet and noticed the two bystanders gawking at him. "Oi, Kurosaki! The hell is going on here?!"

Well, guess who decided to wake up while they were gone?


	5. Chapter 5

### Chapter 5: Cat and Mouse

"G-Grimmjow?" Ichigo couldn't believe what he was seeing. Neither could Orihime, if the look on her face was anything to go by. It was impressive, to say the least: being able to cause this much damage even when you had your powers sealed and your wrists bound together.

"No shit. Don't just stand there, Kurosaki, get these things off of me!" he ordered, gesturing to the heavy, metal handcuffs around his wrists. Well, that was one way to show gratitude.

Doing his best to stay calm despite the absurdity of the situation, Ichigo tried to explain to Grimmjow that he couldn't just take off his restraints. "Look, I'm sorry Grimmjow, but we can't just let you go. You're in the living world, you could do a lot of damage here and-"

"Like I care about the living world!" Grimmjow interrupted him. He stomped over to Ichigo and leaned forward so they were face-to-face, using his advantage in height to try and intimidate the teen. "This shithole can rot for all I care. Take these things off right now, Kurosaki. I'm not staying in dump for another _second_ ," he hissed.

After going through the trouble of saving that blue-haired bastard's life, this is the thanks he got? Well, Grimmjow had another thing coming. "Like hell I will!" Ichigo snapped with his teeth bared, getting so close to Grimmjow their noses almost touched. "After all the shit you put us through during the war, you suddenly show up at my doorstep in the middle of the night, bleeding all over the place. So what did I do? I did everything I could to save your stupid ass- you're welcome, by the way- and now you expect me to just take those things off so you can be on your way without even bothering to explain to us what the hell happened to you?!" He took some deep breaths while everyone in the room stared at him in shocked silence. "Well go fuck yourself, Grimmjow!"

After the initial shock of Ichigo's sudden outburst passed, a look of pure rage manifested on Grimmjow's features. No-one talked to him like that. Grimmjow's nostrils flared, he bared his teeth and narrowed his eyes as he moved to smack some respect into the lowly human that had disrespected him- but found himself unable to do so.

That lowly human had saved his life. Not just once, but twice now. Even he knew it wasn't very honorable to assault someone you owed your life to. And if there was anything Grimmjow hated, it was being indebted to someone else. Of course, the fact that he was surrounded by five rather powerful individuals while his own abilities were sealed may have also had something to do with his unusual self-restraint. Possibly.

"Fine," he eventually spat bitterly at the teen. He stomped back over to his futon, refusing to meet anyone's gaze, and flopped down on his back. He put his hands in his neck and crossed his long legs as he made himself comfortable. "What do you wanna know?"

Urahara and Yoruichi glanced at each other, clearly impressed that Ichigo had managed to not only calm him down, but also make him willing to answer their questions simply by yelling at him. They had been sure it would have taken a lot more 'persuading' to get him to talk. "Well, why don't you start at the beginning, Jaegerjaquez-san," the shopkeeper piped up when Ichigo didn't say anything. "What was it that attacked you?"

"Not sure. Thought it was a Vasto Lorde at first, but that thing was way too powerful to be a normal Hollow." He stubbornly continued to stare at the ceiling while he talked. "Something was off about it's Reiatsu too. The only time I ever felt something that compared to it was when Kurosaki," he gestured with his foot towards Ichigo, "was fighting Ulquiorra."

"I see," Urahara replied while scratching the stubble on his chin. "Well, that pretty much confirms what we already knew. Now, if you don't mind me asking, Jaegarjaquez-san, why did you go to Kurosaki-san when you were wounded? He is a Soul Reaper after all. He could have just as easily finished you off right then and there."

"I'd never attack someone who couldn't defend himself. Especially if they came to me for help," Ichigo spoke up for the first time since his earlier outburst. Grimmjow glanced at the teen, but now he was the one refusing to meet his gaze. Yoruichi rolled her eyes at his statement. She still couldn't understand why Ichigo was so hellbent on protecting everyone around him, even his enemies for crying out loud. Urahara just smiled knowingly, hiding his face behind his fan.

"Not sure about that either. Guess I just couldn't think straight with all the blood I lost." Grimmjow couldn't stop his face from contorting into a smirk as he spoke. He just knew it would rile up the Soul Reaper.

And indeed, he wasn't disappointed. Ichigo got up from where he had been sitting next to Orihime and stormed over to Grimmjow's futon. He slammed his hands down on the side of the bed and brought his face so close to Grimmjow's that he could have counted the freckles on Ichigo's face had he wanted to. Not that he wanted to, of course.

"You ungrateful son of a bitch!" The teen was positively fuming at him, and Grimmjow was loving every second of it. He hadn't expected it to be this much fun to piss him off. Now, to add some fuel to the fire: "Manners, Kurosaki. That's no way to talk to a guest now, is it?"

At first it looked like Ichigo would snap at him again, but as soon as he opened his mouth to give Grimmjow a piece of his mind, he closed it again. Grimmjow got slightly nervous when an evil smile stretched out on the teen's face. "You want us to treat you like a guest?" Ichigo asked in a strange voice.

Suddenly, the world flipped upside-down and Grimmjow somehow found himself on the floor. Scrambling to get back up, he noticed Ichigo holding the futon he'd been lying on earlier. He angrily got back up and stood at his full height in front of Ichigo, doing his best to intimidate the evilly smirking teen. "What the hell, Kurosaki?" he asked with malice dripping from every word.

Obviously his attempt at intimidation wasn't working. "It's already past seven. Time to get out of bed and start helping out around the shop. Moocher," Ichigo replied smugly.

"What?" Giggling could be heard behind him, so he turned around to see the two big-breasted women and the blond guy trying to keep their faces straight. "What's so damn funny?" Suddenly, a large shadow spread out around him as he felt something huge looming behind him. Grimmjow quickly turned around, only to have the crap scared out of him by Tessai's face, which was only an inch away from his. He instinctively backed away, accidentally bumping into Ichigo's chest as he did so.

"Guests here at Urahara's are expected to help out with some of the work. I'm sure Tessai-san has something for you to do," Ichigo gleefully spoke up. The teen's grin was in danger of splitting his face when Grimmjow felt two large hands grabbing him by his upper arms and effortlessly lifting him into the air. "Hey! Who the hell do you think you are! Lemme go!" the Arrancar roared furiously, but to no avail.

"Well, I have always been curious to see what would happen if you used a Gigai on a Hollow." Suddenly Urahara was standing right next to him, holding something that looked like a human corpse, or a creepy, life-sized doll. It actually kind of reminded Grimmjow of those things Szayel had been working on in his lab, except this one had clothes on and wasn't in a giant test-tube filled with green liquid. He had only been in the Octava Espada's laboratory twice, and only because Aizen had ordered him to.

The first time had been for a routine check-up, although with Szayel involved it could hardly be called 'routine'. The second time had been for doing some more intense tests on him and on his Zanpakutou. He'd wanted to refuse of course, but then Aizen didn't really leave him much choice. That time, he had gone into Szayel's 'inner sanctum', where he kept all the really messed up stuff. Anyone who had seen the inside of that place would agree something was seriously wrong with that pink-haired freak's mind.

"Wait, what are you-!" Urahara pushed the doll into him. Yes, INTO him. There was a bright flash, and then the weird doll was gone. And so were his handcuffs. Although Grimmjow was every bit as surprised as the rest of them, he decided to take advantage of their confusion. He wanted to use the unexpected opportunity to break free, but the man holding him wouldn't budge an inch, no matter how much he struggled. What had they done to him? He felt even weaker than before, even though those damn Reiryoku-draining cuffs were gone. "You bastard! What the hell was that thing? What did you do to me?!"

"Interesting," Urahara remarked, completely ignoring Grimmjow's questions. "Gigai seem to function in exactly the same way with Arrancar as they do with Shinigami, though I already expected that. What's really remarkable however is that my Reiryoku-draining restraints were taken in by the Gigai as well. Though since they are filled with Jaegerjaquez-san's energy, I guess it's only natural that the Gigai mistook them for a part of his body." Urahara lifted the shirt the Gigai (and by extension Grimmjow) was wearing and started poking at his abdomen. As he did so, Grimmjow noticed his Hollow Hole wasn't there anymore, which did little to ease his increasing sense of panic. His mask fragment had disappeared as well.

His fight or flight instincts kicked in, but with the way things were currently unfolding, it looked like Grimmjow wouldn't be doing much of either. Since the big guy holding him didn't look like he was going to let go any time soon, Grimmjow wasn't going anywhere. He felt like a caged animal; he was trapped in a body that wasn't his own, his powers were sealed and he could barely move. In short, Grimmjow was not happy. Far from it, actually.

"Get the fuck off!" He struggled some more against the iron grip, but knew it was useless. He clenched his teeth and growled angrily at Ichigo, who was shamelessly laughing his ass off along with the dark-skinned woman.

"He's just checking to see if your Gigai is working properly Jaegerjaquez-san," Orihime spoke up with a small voice after taking pity on him. When Grimmjow's furious gaze landed on her, she was afraid he would snap at her to keep her mouth shut, but she took it a sign to keep talking when he didn't. "A Gigai is an artificial body. The Soul Reapers use it when they need to communicate with humans, or when they get injured during a mission. It's basically a vessel for your Spiritual body." She got pretty nervous when he kept staring at her so intently without saying anything.

"Are you the one that healed me, woman?", he eventually spoke. He seemed to have given up on resisting, for now at least. He still shot Urahara a nasty glare every few seconds though. The man had absolutely no concept of personal space, poking and prodding Grimmjow all over his new body.

"Y-yes. That was me." She couldn't help stumbling over her own words. She hadn't really expected him to address her directly. She stayed silent again for a while as those arctic blue orbs of his bored into her own eyes. Then he averted his gaze as he lowly mumbled "Thanks... I guess."

The nervousness she was feeling turned into astonishment. Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez was actually thanking her? Like a normal person? The last time he had 'thanked' her he had done so by mutilating the two girls that had been guarding her. He had definitely changed since the last time they had met, likely due to Ichigo's influence. Her friend did have that effect on people. There was a small smile tugging at her lips when she responded. "You're welcome."

Urahara finally stopped inspecting the elaborate tattoo of the number six on Grimmjow's back and let his shirt fall back into place. "Looks like you're good to go, Jaegerjaquez-san," he cheerily said before turning his attention to his partner in crime. "Any ideas on what to do with him, Tessai?"

The man looked pensive for a moment as he ran over his mental 'to-do' list. "Those mice in the training room have been getting on my nerves for a while now. He could start by catching them. Oh, and the garbage needs to be taken out. And Jinta got the toilet clogged again..."

The list of degrading tasks he'd have to do went on. Grimmjow incredulously looked at the still-smiling teen. All he could think of to say was: "Are you fucking kidding me?"

"Well, you did kick him in the nuts," Ichigo stated matter-of-factually while shrugging his shoulders. "You kinda deserved it." He chose to ignore the fact that he had done the exact same thing just yesterday. After all, that had been completely justified in Ichigo's opinion.

"If I'm going to be a slave to these freaks for the rest of my life, I'd rather you just kill me now. Would save me the embarrassment," he spat bitterly. "Where's my sword, by the way?" he added as an afterthought.

Ichigo didn't miss how Grimmjow's mind instantly went to his Zanpakutou when he thought about killing. That was... worrying. "And miss seeing you chase after a pack of rodents? Hell no. As for your sword, I'm sure Urahara's taking good care of it. Don't worry." Ichigo hadn't seen Grimmjow's sword since Urahara had come to his house to pick him up. The scientist was probably running some tests on it. He knew the man well enough to realize that he wouldn't pass up the chance to inspect an Espada's Zanpakutou. And unlike Kurotsuchi, Urahara wouldn't do anything bad to it. Although he would undoubtedly do _something_ to it.

"Now then, let's put you to work, Moocher-san." Tessai turned around and started walking down the hallway with Grimmjow slung over his shoulder, who had redoubled his efforts to escape. "From what I've heard, you take on a feline form when you release your sword. I believe you will be perfect for this particular task."

"I'm not a freaking cat, you retarded son of a...!"

As the sound of Grimmjow's swearing slowly died out, the four of them were finally able to release their pent-up laughter. Orihime tried her best to remain somewhat dignified since she felt sorry for him, but in the end, her efforts were in vain and she joined the rest of the group in laughing at the Arrancar's expense.

Let's be honest here. Grimmjow was an asshole. There was no denying that. He was getting his just deserts. In fact, after everything he had done, this was letting him off rather easy.

After the four of them regained their composure somewhat, Yoruichi finally decided to go finish dressing herself, while Urahara slipped out with the excuse of needing to finish some project of his. "He's changed a lot in the time we haven't seen him, huh?" Orihime asked. "I wonder what he was doing over the last few weeks."

Ichigo thought about it. Grimmjow no longer needed to serve Aizen, so he could do whatever he wanted. So what could he have been doing all this time?

"Running around Hueco Mundo looking for strong Hollows to fight," Ichigo said with finality in his voice. He wasn't exactly best friends with Grimmjow, but he knew enough about him to realize that that was pretty much the only possibility.

Orihime giggled. "Yeah, I though so too." Her features turned pensive. "But, where would he find any? I mean, he is an Espada. They're the strongest Hollows there, aren't they? The only other one that survived was Tia Harribel, and I doubt she would be willing to fight him for no good reason. Who else is... there..."

They looked at each other wide-eyed. During all the craziness, they hadn't even had time to think of her. But now that they finally realized that she was still in Hueco Mundo, where Takahashi was, and may have already been for god knows how long, they were absolutely mortified.

"NEL!"

* * *

"No," Grimmjow said petulantly. He was sitting cross-legged on the ground facing Tessai, glaring spitefully at the tall man sitting before him.

"Come now Jaegerjaquez-san," Tessai tried to reason with him. "If you don't do you tasks, you won't get any food."

"I don't. Give a shit. NO," he replied stubbornly, emphasizing every word.

"Grimmjow!" Ichigo let himself drop down to the ground, skipping the last few steps of the ladder that allowed access to the training room. He was soon followed by Orihime, and both headed towards the Arrancar as fast as their feet could carry them.

What? were they here to laugh at him again? With or without his powers, he swore, if that brat so much as chuckled he'd kick his ass into next week. "Now what do you want, Kurosaki?" Grimmjow asked with clear annoyance in his voice.

"Grimmjow!" Ichigo called out again as he dropped to his knees beside the man, firmly grabbing his shoulders. "Do you know what happened to Nel?" It was silent for a moment as Grimmjow racked his brain over what the hell the teen was talking about. "Nel? You mean that kid Arrancar?"

Orihime and Ichigo's faces turned hopeful. "Yeah, her!"

"Not a clue." Grimmjow got a somewhat twisted sense of satisfaction at seeing the pair look so crestfallen.

"Come on Grimmjow, you've gotta know something. Please," Ichigo tried pleading with him.

Grimmjow just smirked tauntingly. "Now what would I gain from telling you?"

"You son of a..." Ichigo started, but he was stopped by Orihime tugging on his sleeve. She looked at him pleadingly, silently telling him to play along if it meant being able to help their friend. He sighed dejectedly. "Fine. If you help us out, I'll help you hunt down the damn rats," he relented.

Grimmjow considered it. He wasn't planning on actually doing anything of course, but if he agreed to this, he could always just dump all of the work onto the teen when it came down to it AND he would get something to eat. After all, he was pretty damn hungry. And while he'd rather starve than beg any of these people for food, he wasn't one to waste an opportunity when he saw one. Besides, it probably wouldn't take Ichigo too long with that fancy Bankai of his. The kid had always been pretty eager to show it off first chance he got. "Alright, deal. But I thought they were mice?"

"Yeah, whatever," Ichigo hastily stated, not caring whatsoever at the moment. "Now come on, tell us."

"So hasty..." Grimmjow teased, getting a glare from the teen. "Well, some time after you left me there all by myself in the middle of that goddamn desert, bleeding, ready to be eaten by any passing Hollow-" He spoke grudgingly, becoming more and more annoyed at the teen that was sitting next to him -and was still touching him- with every word. Ichigo cut him off mid-sentence, though. "I'm sorry, alright! Orihime just got kidnapped right under our noses, I didn't exactly have the time to worry about you!"

"Um, if you don't mind me interrupting, Jaegerjaquez-san," Orihime piped up. "How did you survive?"

The former Espada raised a single blue eyebrow at her. "Where did you think I was going with this? As I was saying: after you just plain abandoned me while I was _dying_ , I passed out from losing too much blood. I was out for quite a while, but when I woke up..." He clenched his teeth, looking like he was remembering something particularly infuriating. "I woke up, all covered in drool, with that _thing_ sitting next to me. If she hadn't saved my life I would have strangled the little shit right then and there." He still seemed pretty upset about having been drooled on. "Anyway, I went off by myself after that. Wandered around for a while. Killed stuff." His expression turned eerily content when he thought about killing stuff.

Ichigo, Orihime and Tessai exchanged worried glances. Well, at least know they that their guess had been correct. Not that there was ever any doubt, really...

"Not sure how long it was, but eventually I made it back to Las Noches" Grimmjow continued. "Well, what's left of it anyway. Turns out Harribel survived, and set up some sort of 'safe zone' for the surviving Arrancar in the ruins of the fortress. It's not like I actually liked any of those fuckers to begin with, so I didn't stay there for long. That was the last place I saw your retarded little friend at, so if you want to look for her that's where I'd start. Although I haven't actually been there for quite some time. I don't know what happened to the base after I left," he finished.

"I see. I will inquire with the boss about setting up a scouting mission." Tessai got up and headed for the ladder. "Now then, Kurosaki-dono, Jaegerjaquez-san, if you would..." With one hand already on the ladder, he gestured toward a pack of mice that were happily running around the giant room.

"Err... Right," Ichigo replied sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. Grimmjow just ground his teeth angrily as Tessai started climbing. His temper had already started rising again.

"Hey, where are you going?", the Ichigo asked upon seeing Orihime prepare to leave too.

She smiled apologetically at him. "I'm sorry, Kurosaki-kun. I'd help out too, but I promised Tatsuki I'd meet up with her by nine. I still need to shower and get ready before then..."

"Oh. Well, alright. I guess I'll see you later then. Say hi to Tatsuki for me when you see her." They said their goodbyes, and Ichigo watched her until she disappeared through the small opening in the ceiling before he turned back to Grimmjow. "Well, no use stalling. Let's hurry up and catch these suckers so I can go home." He started walking towards the pile of small cages Tessai had provided them with, but stopped when he noticed that Grimmjow didn't do anything. "Hey, I said I'd help you, but don't think I'm doing all of this by myself."

Grimmjow just continued to stare at him with a wondering expression. "What the hell's wrong with you? 'Set up a scouting mission'? I thought you'd bust into Hueco Mundo guns blazing the second I told you where she was."

"Well, normally, I probably would," Ichigo admitted, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. "But I lost my powers. Just a few hours ago, actually. If I went to Hueco Mundo now, I'm pretty sure I'd just get eaten by Hollows."

The kid lost his powers? Now that, Grimmjow had not been expecting. He felt a twinge of disappointment. He had been looking forward to whooping the teen's ass in their inevitable rematch. "How the hell did you lose your powers?"

"I had a little run-in with Takahashi myself. The guy who attacked you," he added after seeing Grimmjow's confusion. "Well, my Reiatsu was already unstable, so all it took was a few thousand volts and BAM: gone." Ichigo wasn't able to completely hide his surprise at the sudden interest Grimmjow was displaying. Anticipating the man's next question, he kept talking. "I've known for a while I was going to lose my powers eventually. I mean, that's the price I had to pay in order to use the Final Getsuga Tenshou. It was the only way to beat Aizen. Bastard used the Hogyoku to basically turn himself into a god. That stupid piece of rock..." He mumbled to himself, inwardly cursing both Urahara and Aizen for ever creating the little sphere that had caused everyone so much trouble.

Interested in hearing how Aizen had finally met his end, Grimmjow walked over to Ichigo and picked up some mouse traps. There had been rumors going around Hueco Mundo that Aizen had been taken down by a certain orange-haired Soul Reaper, but Grimmjow wasn't one to accept rumors as fact. He wanted to hear how that stuck-up son of a bitch that had forced him to call him Aizen-sama had finally gotten what he deserved. Plus, he was starting to get a new-found respect for the kid. Not only had he succeeded in killing the man even Grimmjow knew he himself stood no chance against, Ichigo had also managed to survive an encounter with the monster that had forced him to run for his life. "So, you basically killed him in one hit, but that attack cost you your Shinigami powers?"

"Well, no, not exactly. We exchanged some blows before that, and when I did use it, the bastard survived even that. Seriously, I'd nearly cut him in half but _still_ the Hogyoku managed to save him. It was only because of Urahara's sealing spell that he finally went down."

"What?!" Grimmjow suddenly exclaimed loudly, making Ichigo jump. "Are you telling me that piece of shit's still alive?!"

"Well, yeah. But according to Urahara, he's going to be in solitary confinement for at least the next two thousand years or so." That seemed to make Grimmjow's anger subside. He couldn't suppress a chuckle at the thought of 'Lord Aizen' getting to spend the next two millennia staring at a wall.

"Alright, I can live with that. I guess just killing him would have been letting him off easy. Better to let him rot for all eternity in whatever hole the Soul Reapers decided to throw him." He took another look around the training grounds, a large family of mice scattering when Grimmjow's gaze landed on the rodents. "Kurosaki. How the hell did these things even get down here?"

The teen exhaled wearily. "That's a long story. It all started when Yoruichi wanted to get some training done in her cat form..."

* * *

It wasn't until just before noon that Ichigo finally managed to get home. "I'm back!" he called out to no-one in particular while he kicked off his shoes.

"Welcome home, Ichi-nii!" Yuzu called back from inside the house. Ichigo walked into the kitchen area, where he was warmly greeted by his sister. She was busy stirring the contents of several large pots she had on the stove. "Karin isn't here yet?" Ichigo asked her while taking a can of soda out of the refrigerator.

"No, she's still at soccer-practice. She should be home by one if she's not running late," she replied easily. She may have only been twelve years old, but Yuzu acted as the mother of the Kurosaki household. She knew her entire family's weekly schedule by heart.

She turned away from the stove, leaving her pots and pans for what they were for the moment in favor of checking up on her big brother. While her Spiritual abilities may not have been anything worth mentioning when you compared them with those of the rest of her family, she wasn't completely oblivious to otherworldly phenomena. She had grown accustomed to the strong, protective aura her brother seemed to be constantly emitting. Right now though, even when she was standing so close to him, Yuzu could barely feel anything. "Ichi-nii, is everything alright?" she asked, somewhat concerned.

Ichigo responded by raising an orange eyebrow, unable to speak and gulp down his drink simultaneously .

"Urahara-san called last night to let us know you'd be staying with him, but he wouldn't say why." She stared up at him with those big, worried eyes of hers and Ichigo knew right away it would be wasted effort to try and hide the truth from her.  
He tried his best to give her a reassuring smile, but due to his exhaustion it looked more like a grimace. "I'm fine Yuzu, it's just..." he trailed off, not knowing where to start. "I'll tell you later alright? Over dinner. Dad and Karin should probably hear this too."

No, it wasn't alright to her. Something was seriously troubling her older brother, and Yuzu didn't want to let him go until she knew exactly what it was and what she could do about it. Instead, what she said was: "Alright. You should go get some rest before supper's ready. You look like you didn't get much sleep tonight."

"Yeah, you're right. Call me when it's time to eat, okay?" She nodded, and he flashed her a weak smile before leaving her by herself, dumping the empty can in the garbage bin as he passed it. Since he was able to cross the living room safely without being attacked by his clinically insane father, Ichigo took it as a sign that old Goatface was still busy at work. He would probably be helping him out at the clinic more often now that he wasn't a Shinigami anymore.

He had been thinking about it a lot lately, and he had decided that he wanted to follow in his father's footsteps and become a doctor. But not just because of his father, of course. He had always wanted to help people, that was just his nature. Now that he couldn't protect people by slaying giant, soul-eating monstrosities anymore, he'd protect them in his own way. By tending to their wounds after they had an accident, making sure they'd live to see another day and spend more time with their loved ones.

He slowly trudged up the stairs, starting to feel just how tired he really was after the events of last night. And those of the night before that. And let's not forget those from this morning; those mice had been a lot faster than they looked. Watching Grimmjow run after them, swearing all the while had been absolutely priceless though, so that had been worth it in Ichigo's opinion. The man had turned into a raving lunatic after the sixth time a particularly annoying critter had managed to elude him. The language Grimmjow had used this morning would have made a hardened sailor blush.

When he finally reached his bed, Ichigo flopped down on it and buried his face in his pillow. He was out like a light in seconds.

* * *

"Iiiiichigoooooooooooo!"

Said teen's eyes snapped wide open. The sound was coming from the hallway. Even as he thought that, his father burst out the door yelling "Time to wake up, son!" before jumping up as high as the ceiling allowed, aiming a flying kick straight for his only son's face. However, this was clearly not the first time this had happened, as said son moved out of harms way with lightning reflexes that could only have been attained by years upon years of training.

Isshin Kurosaki hit the bed with such force that the mattress' springs launched him right back up into the air. Consequently, his head smashed straight through the ceiling, where it remained stuck, leaving the rest of Isshin's body flailing around helplessly. "OW! Ichigo my darling son, help daddy get down!" His cries were muffled, but still clearly comprehensible. A cloud of dust and debris came down from the ceiling, making Ichigo's room look like it was a construction site.

Ichigo glared at the hole where his fathers head had disappeared into, not having the slightest intention of helping the lunatic out. It was his own damn fault this had happened. "Oi, get that fixed when you manage to get your head out. And clean my bed while you're at it, you got dust all over the sheets!" He started walking toward the hallway, fully intent on leaving his father there. He would get out by himself. Eventually.

"Nooo, don't leave daddy behind! It's so dark in here! And I think I can see something moving!" he wailed with his feet flailing around. "Why are you so mean to daddy?! OW! Something bit me!" the immature man wailed.

Ichigo simply headed downstairs, completely ignoring his fathers pleas for help. The idiot had gotten himself into this mess with his stupidity, so he could get himself out of it too. What kind of a father woke his children up by kicking them in the face? Some messed up family he had.

He followed the wonderful scent of food that was coming from the living room, his mouth already watering at just the thought of Yuzu's delicious cooking. Both his sisters were already in their seats, waiting for the two men to come join them. Ichigo sat down in his usual spot next to Karin, saying hi to her as he did so. She glanced at him suspiciously when she noticed something off about him, but decided not to comment on it.

"What's keeping dad so long?" Yuzu wondered out loud when the man didn't come down.

"He had some stuff to take care of. Said we could start without him," Ichigo lied easily. Faint cries for help could be heard coming from upstairs, but nobody paid them any mind.

"So Ichi-nii, what was it you wanted to talk abou-" Yuzu was cut off by the sound of the doorbell ringing. The three siblings exchanged glances; nobody seemed to have been expecting any guests for lunch.

"I'll get it." Ichigo reluctantly left his plate of mouth-watering spaghetti behind and headed toward the front door, his stomach protesting loudly the whole way there. If this turned out to be some retarded kid that had rang the bell just to annoy him and then ran away, there would be hell to pay. When he opened the door, he wasn't greeted by some kid, though. "What the hell are you doing here?!" the teen called out in shock. His eyes nearly popped out of their sockets when he saw who had come to his house.

Before him stood a tall, blue-haired, devilishly smirking Arrancar. "Got bored. Hoped you'd be able to entertain me, Kurosaki."

Oh, this was not happening.


	6. Chapter 6

### Chapter 6: An Unexpected Visitor

"Go away," Ichigo deadpanned. Not even bothering to wait for a reply, he tried to slam the door shut right in Grimmjow's face. Unfortunately for Ichigo though, the other man still had much better reflexes than the average human, even if he did happen to be in a Gigai at the moment.

Grimmjow had quickly stuck out his hand to keep the door from closing all the way. "I barely managed to escape from that madhouse, Kurosaki," he grit out with a haunted look in his eyes. "I am NOT going back there." The man looked rather tense. Actually, scratch that; Ichigo could literally _feel_ the stress radiating off of Grimmjow.

 _"Wow," I_ chigo thought to himself. Urahara and the rest of his crew at the shop seemed to have _already_ managed to drive Grimmjow to the edge of a mental breakdown. That must have been some kind of record.

"So you came here instead?" the teen asked incredulously, still doing his best to shut the door. "If you got away, why didn't you just make a run for it?"

Grimmjow threw him an unimpressed look. "Are you really that slow Kurosaki?" Grimmjow stepped back, putting an end to their little standoff. He knew he had Ichigo's attention now; the kid was way too stubborn to walk away after being insulted to his face. And indeed, instead of taking the chance to shut Grimmjow out, Ichigo stepped out onto the porch. He scowled angrily as he waited for him to elaborate on his earlier statement.

Grimmjow smirked. The teen could be so predictable sometimes. "See this?" The man asked, gesturing at his body. "As long as I'm stuck in this stupid thing- this-"

"Gigai," Ichigo helpfully supplied.

"Yeah, that. As long as I'm trapped in this _Gigai_ , I have literally zero Reiryoku. Not even enough to open a freaking Garganta," He muttered disdainfully. "I can't get back back to Hueco Mundo like this, Kurosaki."

"Yes, I got that part," Ichigo replied impatiently. He wished Grimmjow would just fuck off already so he could get back to eating. No way was he letting Yuzu's home-cooked spaghetti get cold. "What I don't get is why you're _here_ , at my house," Ichigo hissed.

"Well, where else was I supposed to go?!" Grimmjow snapped, making Ichigo flinch. He hadn't expected the man to get agitated so easily. Grimmjow averted his eyes and took a step back, running a hand through his long, unruly hair to calm himself.

"Where else was I supposed to go?" he repeated in a lower voice. "Believe it or not, there ain't much for me to do in this world. Besides, even if I could go back to Hueco Mundo," he looked Ichigo straight in the eye, his arctic blue irises almost glowing with barely contained anger, "as long as that fucker is still out there I'd just be getting myself killed," he spat. "But I am _not_ letting him get away with this, Kurosaki. I'm gonna get stronger, and when I do, I am going to rip that bastard's guts out _with my bare hands,"_ he hissed. And then he started to smile. Grimmjow's expression changed to one of sadistic glee in a matter of seconds.

"I'm going to enjoy every fucking second of it," He laughed excitedly. "When I finally get my hands on him... he'll be _begging_ me to kill him by the time I'm done."

A chill ran down Ichigo's spine. The teen had just been given a reminder of exactly how dangerous the man standing before him truly was. He may have taken on a human form and mindset, but at the center of his being, Grimmjow was still a Hollow; a savage beast driven only by instinct. Still, it was hard to believe that this was the same Grimmjow who had been absolutely terrified of Takahashi just yesterday.

No. If anything, it made perfect sense. Grimmjow's aspect of death was destruction. He was simply coping with his fear in the only way he knew how: by completely destroying that which caused him to be afraid in the first place.

Ichigo opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. He had no idea of what to say in this situation. Stubborn and determined as Grimmjow was, Ichigo doubted he would become strong enough to face the rogue Shinigami on even ground, no matter how much he trained. Takahashi's power was monstrous. Ichigo wouldn't be forgetting the experience of being crushed by such overwhelming force anytime soon.

The awkward tension between the two men grew as neither of them spoke.

Luckily, Yuzu chose that moment to make an appearance. "Ichi-nii, is everything alright? Your food is getting cold." She walked up to the front door, curiously watching Grimmjow as she went, completely unaware of how dangerous the man before her was. Grimmjow stared back at her, already looking a lot more mentally stable now that he was being distracted from his objective of bloody revenge. "Is he a friend of yours, Ichi-nii? Why don't you ask him to join us for dinner? I made plenty."

Ichigo tensed. Ask Grimmjow over for dinner? Might as well go find a wild bear in the woods somewhere and ask it to come play house with you. "No, Yuzu, he's not-" He attempted to stop her, but the damage had already been done.

"You have food in there? Good. I'm fucking starving." Taking advantage of Ichigo's momentary confusion, Grimmjow slipped past the teen and entered the house. "That greedy shopkeeper gave me one - ONE - bowl of shitty rice," he complained out loud. Yuzu didn't seem to be too taken with his choice of words.

"Please don't use that sort of language inside the house," she admonished him. "Oh, and you can leave your shoes over there."

Yuzu smiled politely whilst saying so, but both Ichigo and Grimmjow could sense it was more of an order than a request. She was starting to remind Ichigo more and more of captain Unohana with each passing day. He wondered if she would become as scary as the Fourth Division's captain when she grew up. It was disturbingly easy to picture his little sister wearing the same expression that Unohana tended to use when things didn't go her way; the one that looked like she was smiling because something had amused her, yet also said 'do as I tell you or learn the true meaning of suffering'.

Grimmjow gave her a look that very clearly relayed his annoyance, but decided to surprise Ichigo by actually listening to the young girl. He took off the old, ratty sneakers as well as the jacket Urahara had given him and left them behind at the assigned spot before following Yuzu to the living-slash-dining room.

"What's your name?" Yuzu asked conversationally as she led him further into the house.

"Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez." He looked around the house curiously as he went.

"Jaeger...jaquez?" Yuzu managed to pronounce with some effort. "That doesn't sound like a Japanase name. Are you from another country, by any chance?" She asked with poorly masked excitement. Yuzu seemed to be delighted at the prospect of having a foreigner over for dinner. She had always been interested in other cultures. Unfortunately, Grimmjow's 'culture' may have been just be a little _too_ different for her tastes...

Meanwhile Ichigo, who was completely stupefied by what had just occurred, just stood there slack-jawed as he looked at his sister and Grimmjow's retreating backs. It was only when they were already out of sight that he finally managed to shake himself out of his stupor. The teen slammed the door shut before hastily following them.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" he hissed at Grimmjow once he caught up with him, soft enough for his sisters not to be able to hear it.

"What? She said there was food, and I'm hungry," he shrugged noncommittally. Not seeming too interested in Ichigo's sputtered objections, he stalked off toward the table and sat down in the empty chair next to Karin. She glanced curiously at him for a moment before shrugging and focusing her attention on her plate again. If she was at all surprised that the stranger who had nearly bled out in her brother's bedroom two nights earlier was now sitting at their dinner table, she certainly didn't let it show.

Yuzu quickly scooped some more spaghetti onto a plate, and she put it down in front of Grimmjow. The Arrancar looked at the offered food suspiciously. He sniffed it to see if he could detect any poison- better safe than sorry, after all- and when he didn't, picked up the utensils Yuzu had provided him with.

Ichigo sighed, deciding it was pointless to try and kick Grimmjow out now. He figured that as long as the man kept up this surprisingly good behavior, he may as well stay over for a while. After everything Grimmjow had been through in these last few days, he deserved some downtime, Ichigo mused to himself. He sat down at the other side of the table so he was facing said Arrancar.

Now that he had the chance to observe the man more closely, Ichigo noticed he was looking a lot better already. He had apparently been allowed to take a shower at Urahara's, and had gotten a chance to shave as seeing as the stubble was no longer there. His hair on the other hand was still just as messy as before, but at least it wasn't so greasy anymore.

Ichigo looked on as Grimmjow tried- and failed -to pick up the pasta with his fork. "I take it you've never eaten spaghetti before?" he asked, sounding rather amused.

Grimmjow glared at him before turning back to his plate and stubbornly continued trying to scoop the food into his mouth. 'Trying' being the operative word. Unable to prevent a chuckle from escaping, Ichigo decided to take pity on him. "You just stick your fork in and twirl it around. Like this, watch."

Grimmjow grudgingly watched what Ichigo did, highly annoyed at the fact that he couldn't even eat any of the food in this world without receiving instructions first, like he was some sort of halfwit. He repeated what Ichigo had done, and just the fact that it actually worked already did wonders for his mood. Once he actually got the pasta into his mouth though, all his worries went straight out the window.

"This's fucking good, Kurosaki." he mumbled with his mouth still nearly full, a second portion already en route.

Ichigo let out a laugh at seeing the former Espada wolf down his food like that. "I'm glad you like it. Yuzu's the one who made it."

Things quieted down after that, as everyone was focused on their own plates. In the next few minutes the only sounds came from the occasional scraping of utensils, or when somebody asked to have something passed to them, or when muffled screams from somewhere on the first floor reached the living room.

Nobody paid attention to those.

"Can I have seconds?"

Three pairs of eyes turned to stare at Grimmjow. And indeed; while their plates where still mostly full, his was completely empty. In fact, it looked as clean as if it had just gotten out of the dishwasher. Grimmjow's face however, appeared to have collected half of the sauce while he was busy inhaling his food. Ichigo and Karin both burst out laughing, which earned each of them a glare, while Yuzu was overjoyed that their guest had enjoyed the meal she made. She quickly took his plate and started piling more pasta onto it, while Grimmjow looked on with his mouth already watering at the thought of getting to eat more of her cooking.

Ichigo was still smiling. Considering this was Grimmjow they were dealing with, he believed that things couldn't have possibly gone any better than this.

But of course, quiet never lasted very long in the Kurosaki household.

"Ichigooooo!"

And here came the main reason for that.

Nearly scaring them all to death - especially Grimmjow who wasn't used to this sort of thing - Isshin suddenly appeared right out of freaking nowhere and kicked his only son in the side of the head, knocking him out of his chair and landing on top of him, where he proceeded to grab Ichigo in a chokehold. How he had gotten downstairs without any of them noticing was anyone's guess.

Well, that was just what Ichigo needed right now. His batshit insane father having another one of his little 'episodes'. As if the situation with Grimmjow wasn't precarious enough as it was. "How could you just leave your poor father up there! It was cold and dusty, and I'm pretty sure a rat bit me!" he wailed while attempting to strangle his son.

Said son's temper reached critical levels in record time, and before Isshin even realized what was happening, he was already airborne. "How many times do I have to tell you..." Ichigo growled dangerously, holding his father up over his head without any noticeable effort, "To stop DOING THAT!" he finished with a furious snarl, launching his screaming father through the air.

BAM!

Everyone except Ichigo winced as Isshin roughly came in contact with the floor, bouncing back up a few times before sliding to a stop against the wall, right below the poster of Masaki.

"Masakiii," He whined. "The children are being so- so mean to me again," he cried, a little dazed from his rough encounter with the floor. He then promptly passed out and started snoring, making everyone present sweatdrop.

Ichigo took a deep, cleansing breath to calm himself before reclaiming his seat at the dinner table. "I'm sorry you had to see that," he calmly told Grimmjow. His sisters didn't even pay the injured man any mind and simply continued their meals.

The man just stared at him for a few seconds in bewilderment. Ichigo stared right back, despite feeling his cheeks redden in embarrassment at the whole situation. Suddenly, Grimmjow snorted, breaking the tense silence. He threw his head back as he laughed loudly, completely ignoring the heated glare Ichigo was sending him. "And here I thought the human world was going to be boring!" he chuckled.

"Glad to see you're getting enjoyment out of my misery," Ichigo replied darkly. "Try living with him for sixteen years, see if it's still funny then."

Grimmjow just smirked at the silently brooding teen, before redirecting his attention toward his plate, which Yuzu had been kind enough to refill with the delicious substance the human world knew as pasta.

With Grimmjow once again busy inhaling his food, and her father down for the count (at least for the next few minutes), Yuzu determined that there would be no more interruptions and took her chance to finally ask the question that had been on the tip of her tongue ever since her brother had come home. "Ichi-nii."

Ichigo looked up at her. "What is it, Yuzu?"

"What happened last night?" She asked softly, already knowing it couldn't be anything good judging by the way her brother had been acting. "You promised you would tell us everything."

Ichigo faltered for just a moment. With all the chaos his father and Grimmjow had caused, he had forgotten all about that. His brows furrowed as he once again donned his signature scowl. He was already dreading the fact that he would have to go over everything that had happened yet again while the wounds were still so fresh. Not just that, but knowing his sister, she would probably take the news pretty hard.  
The teen glanced up at Grimmjow, who had stopped licking his plate clean so he could listen to his story as well.

He took a deep breath, and started recounting the events of the night before.

* * *

"... and when I woke up again, I was back at Urahara's. That's about it," Ichigo finished.

Fifteen agonizingly long minutes after he had begun talking, silence reigned once again in the Kurosaki household. Ichigo's father had regained consciousness sometime during his explanation, but even he didn't know what to say. Everyone save Grimmjow was trying to come to terms with the fact that in the 24 hours they hadn't seen him, Ichigo had been beaten, tortured and had his powers stripped away from him. And he had still left out some details as to not upset Yuzu any more than he already had.

Ichigo wasn't a Shinigami anymore. Of course, they had all known that he would have lost his powers eventually, but none of them had expected it to happen so suddenly.

His father was behaving himself rather well: he had slipped back into his more serious personality. While it was certainly a nice change to see him acting like an adult for once, it was still somewhat discomforting. He didn't seem to be paying much attention to Grimmjow, but Ichigo knew he was closely monitoring him. His sisters on the other hand... well, no surprises there. Yuzu was staring at him with tears in her eyes and the occasional sniffle, while Karin tried her best to look like she was unaffected by what she had heard yet didn't _quite_ manage to hide her concern.

"Ichi-nii..." Yuzu started with a watery voice. Grimmjow not-so-subtly rolled his eyes at the display of emotion.

Ichigo shot him a quick glare before turning his attention back to his sister. "You don't have to worry about me, Yuzu. I'm alright now," he tried to comfort her, but without success.

"I know that!" she said petulantly. "But after hearing what that- that awful man did to you... You've already been through enough, Ichigo!" She cried. "It's not fair! Why do you always have to be the one to suffer?" She wiped at her face, stubbornly trying to stop the tears that kept on coming. "And what about Rukia? Your friends in Soul Society? You won't be able to see them anymore, will you? After everything you've done for Karakura and the Soul Society... It's just not fair!" she sobbed quietly.

"Hey, it's alright," he attempted to calm her down. "We all knew it was gonna happen eventually. Besides, I haven't lost all of my powers yet. I can still see spirits; I even talked to Rukia just this morning."

"But still..." Yuzu spoke up quietly. "You keep getting hurt. Even since before you became a Soul Reaper." She slowly looked up at Ichigo. It was heartbreaking to see her looking at him like that. "When is that going to stop?"

The other two members of the family looked at each other. Both Karin and Isshin had already asked themselves that same question many times. Sometimes it seemed like Ichigo just kept on going from one big tragedy to the next.

Grimmjow on the other hand, was absolutely nauseated by what he was hearing. He'd never be able understand humans; making such a big stink over nothing. So Kurosaki had gotten his ass kicked a couple times, big deal. If he lost, it just meant he wasn't strong enough. Instead of whining and bitching about it, he should be trying to toughen the fuck up so he could tear that Shinigami bastard to pieces, like Grimmjow himself was planning on doing.

Ichigo remained silent. He didn't know how to answer his sister's question. "I don't know Yuzu," he eventually spoke up. "But no matter what's up ahead, I'll make it through somehow." He smiled encouragingly at her. "I always do."

* * *

"You seriously watch this crap, Kurosaki?" Grimmjow asked, looking annoyed. They were sitting on the couch in the living room, watching TV. The atmosphere in the house had already improved dramatically now that everyone had some time to cope with Ichigo's revelation.

"It's daytime television, what did you expect?" the teen countered lazily, stretching and popping his back. He continued flipping channels. He had to agree with Grimmjow on this one though, the show they had been watching was total crap, even by daytime television standards.

Grimmjow glared at him. "Something that doesn't make my want to gouge my own eyes out?"

Ichigo kept aimlessly changing the channel. "I'm afraid there's not going to be much that fits your criteria." After coming across no less than five home shopping channels in a row, Ichigo decided to call it quits. He switched the television off, turning to face Grimmjow. "So. I'm curious; why did you come to me? When you were wounded, I mean." Ichigo bluntly asked. When dealing with someone like Grimmjow, Ichigo figured there wasn't any point in circling around the topic. The direct approach would most likely yield the best results.

Grimmjow shot him an angry look. It didn't look like Ichigo would be getting an answer any time soon. Of course, the teen had figured that would be the case. And he wasn't planning on backing down that easily. "Come on. I'm serious," he persisted. "Couldn't you have run to Las Noches? You said one of the other Espada set up a safe zone for Arrancar there, didn't you?"

Grimmjow looked at the teen incredulously, like he couldn't believe Ichigo was really that stupid. "Oh, yeah. Great idea. Lure him straight to an all-you-can-eat Arrancar buffet." His words were positively _oozing_ with sarcasm.

"Point." Ichigo had already realized the flaw in his reasoning about halfway through his sentence. He really needed a better brain-to-mouth filter. "Then why not go straight to Orihime?" He pressed on. Grimmjow threw his head back in annoyance. "You know how she is. She would have just healed you and let you walk right out again after she was done."

"I don't know, alright!" Grimmjow raised his voice. "I didn't exactly have time to think it over rationally! I was drowning in my own blood, for fuck's sake! I was freaking dying, but for some reason all I could think about was what happened with you and Nnoitra!"

They fell into a stunned silence. Grimmjow averted his gaze, refusing to look at Ichigo. Ichigo didn't know what to say. "Fuck," Grimmjow swore. "I guess I just... followed my instincts or something. Coming here seemed like my best option." He seemed uncomfortable, if not plain embarrassed. The moment passed fairly quickly though. "Now let me ask you something, Kurosaki." He locked eyes with him again. "Why _did_ you save me?" It seemed it was Ichigo's turn to be grilled now.

"What, you thought I was just going to watch you get your head ground to paste by that SUV?" Grimmjow glared at him again. He probably didn't like being reminded of that. Again, defective brain-to-mouth filter.

"With Nnoitra, I meant." Grimmjow ground out. Ichigo was rather amused to see that his ears had reddened a little. He really was feeling embarrassed. This wasn't a side of Grimmjow Ichigo had ever expected to see. The man looked like he was starting to get impatient though, so Ichigo's mind went back to his earlier question. "Well... Same thing, really. I couldn't just let your own ally kill you right under my nose."

"Why the hell not? I was trying to kill you not even a full minute before he showed up." Grimmjow deadpanned.

"Well yeah," Ichigo began, slightly uncomfortable. "But you also saved my life by bringing Orihime to me after I fought Ulquoirra. That kind of evens it out."

"I didn't want to _save_ you, I wanted to _fight_ y-"

"Look, let's just call it even," Ichigo interrupted him. This could go on for hours if someone didn't put a stop to it.

They threatened to fall into an uncomfortable silence again. Ichigo didn't know what he could possibly talk about with Grimmjow. It was surprisingly easy to forget, but he was sitting next to perhaps the most violent member out of all the Espada. No suitable topics for conversation came to mind in this particular situation.

Said Espada was currently busy trying to keep his hair from getting into his eyes, but some stubborn locks just kept getting in the way. "You could let Yuzu cut it if you want," Ichigo spoke up. The words had already left his mouth before Ichigo even realized he had spoken.

Surprisingly enough, Grimmjow seemed to actually be considering it. "Your sister? She can cut hair?"

"Yeah. She always does mine." Grimmjow still looked doubtful. At that exact moment, the hairs he had managed to get out of the way all fell right in front of his eyes again like a curtain. "Alright, fuck this. Let's do it."

A few minutes later, they were all set up in the upstairs bathroom. Grimmjow sat in front of the mirror with a large towel draped over his shoulders to prevent hair from getting onto his clothes. As Ichigo had expected, his sister had been overjoyed at the prospect of getting to cut Grimmjow's hair. He had noticed her throwing glances at it occasionally when they were having dinner.

Yuzu's career in hairdressing had started out by giving her brother the occasional trim when he didn't feel like going to a professional barber. It hadn't taken her long to persuade Ichigo to let her do more than just that. He simply couldn't say no to her. Admittedly, the first two or three attempts didn't work out all that well, but she was a fast learner. In fact, right now, she was the only one allowed to get anywhere near Ichigo's head with scissors in hand. Eventually, after seeing the good results she had with Ichigo, Karin and his father had started soliciting her services as well when they needed a quick cut.

"Alright, Grimmjow-san. What would you like me to do?" Grimmjow began giving her instructions as Ichigo watched. What a strange situation this had turned into. Well, actually it had been strange for a while now, but they had just reached a whole new level of weird. If someone had told him yesterday that this was how today was going to turn out, Ichigo would have laughed in that person's face.

The floor was quickly starting to get covered with locks of blue hair. The longer Yuzu worked on Grimmjow, the more Ichigo recognized the Espada he had fought one month prior.

"There, that should be about it," Yuzu stated after a good twenty minutes, stepping back to admire her work. "Ichi-nii, could you hand me the hair-gel?" Ichigo did as asked and handed her the bottle. Grimmjow still looked a bit doubtful about his new hairdo. It was a lot shorter now, and frankly looked rather messy. That quickly changed once Yuzu started working the gel in. In no time at all, the Espada was once again sporting his signature hairstyle.

"You've really got a talent for this Yuzu," Ichigo said appreciatively, looking Grimmjow over. Grimmjow ran a hand through his freshly-cut hair while looking in the mirror. He smirked. He seemed rather pleased with what he saw. "Thanks kid. Looks pretty damn good."

Yuzu beamed. She was so happy that she was being praised for her work that she even excused the swearing. "You're welcome!" She took the towel away from Grimmjow and wiped some stray hairs off of him, still smiling from ear to ear. She dumped the towel in the laundry basket before picking the whole thing up. "I'll go put this in the washing machine," she said as she left the room. They could hear her humming happily as she went down the stairs.

"Well Kurosaki," Grimmjow said as he got up and stretched, "this was one hell of a weird day."

Ichigo laughed. The first time he genuinely laughed since his encounter with Takahashi. "You're telling me." He smiled at Grimmjow. "All things considered though, I wouldn't say it was a bad day."

"Well I'm still not too happy about being stuck here in this shithole," Grimmjow glared, but there wasn't any real heat behind his words. "But... it could be a lot worse, I guess." He exited the bathroom, so Ichigo followed him. "I should probably head back. Wouldn't want the freak on steroids to come looking for me."

Ichigo snorted at Grimmjow's description of Tessai. They headed down the stairs, reaching the hallway. "The shopkeeper said they'd be having a strategy meeting about that Katsumi guy tomorrow. He probably wants you to come." He started to put on his sneakers.

"So Urahara finally managed to contact Soul Society, then?"

"Think so. He and the other two locked themselves in the lab downstairs; I heard them saying something about an Ukitake as they passed my room. I took it as my chance to get the hell out of there," he gruffly stated. Once finished tying his shoelaces, he stood back upright and grabbed his jacket off the coat hanger. "So... Guess I'll see you around then," Grimmjow said a bit unsure. He didn't sound too thrilled with the prospect, not that Ichigo had expected him to be.

"Yeah. Tell Urahara I'll be there."

Grimmjow opened the front door, not acknowledging whether or not he had heard Ichigo. Ichigo watched him for a while as he went. Today had certainly been... Well, many things actually. But 'unexpected' was probably the word that fit best here. Just when Ichigo's life had become relatively normal again- and he used that term very, VERY loosely- Grimmjow's arrival had sent everything spiraling out of control once again. These last three days had been some of the craziest yet, which was saying a lot considering a normal day for Ichigo consisted of slaying soul-eating monstrosities.

Grimmjow was nearly out of sight now. Ichigo shuddered, goosebumps spreading over his arms. It had gotten colder pretty quickly. If temperatures kept dropping like this, it might even start snowing by the first week of December.

He was about to go back inside, but looked over his shoulder one last time. Grimmjow was doing the same thing. They stared at each other for just a moment, before simultaneously breaking eye contact.

Ichigo closed the door and leaned back against it. Such a strange guy, Grimmjow. He still wasn't entirely sure what to think about him. One moment he looked downright homicidal, the other he willingly let his sister work on his hair for a good twenty minutes during which he patiently sat still. All he could really say about Grimmjow for now was that maybe he wasn't such a bad guy after all. When he wasn't busy trying to kill him, at least.

And Grimmjow had been right. They would see more of each other. Ichigo would have plenty of time to figure out just who Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez really was.

* * *

Meanwhile, in an underground laboratory underneath a certain shop:

Urahara was typing commands into a console at an insane pace. "Tessai, where is Jaegerjaquez-san right now?" he asked without looking away from the screen.

Tessai glanced at his own monitor. On it, a map of Karakura town was visible. If you looked closely, you could see a blinking red dot that was slowly moving away from the Kurosaki Clinic. "He seems to have just left Kurosaki-dono's house. He should arrive at the shop in about twenty minutes if he continues at this pace."

"Good. He's decided to come back voluntarily, then." He stopped typing and walked over to a large monitor. It had shown only static while they were talking. Now, an image started to come into focus while crackling came from the speakers.

"H-lo? C- -ou -ear me now?" A white-haired man wearing a Captain's robes appeared on the screen.

"Yes, Ukitake-san. We can hear you just fine." Urahara confirmed. "Have you managed to find out any more?" He had already talked to the Captain a few hours back. After discussing what their next course of action should be, they had decided to continue their conversation after gathering more information. As such, Urahara had asked Yoruichi to infiltrate Hueco Mundo in order to find out what exactly what Takahashi was up to over there. At the same time, Ukitake had set out with a team of experts to examine the area where the man had been imprisoned.

Ukitake looked solemn. "We've confirmed it's really him, not that there was any doubt. His seal appeared to be intact when we arrived, but when we inspected it more closely it turned out to hold not him, but the two men who had been on guard duty the night he escaped. They had been declared missing five days ago."

Urahara exhaled wearily. "So that's why nobody realized he had escaped. It certainly sounds like something he would do. But that still leaves us with the question of _how_ he escaped."

"I'm afraid I can't give you an explanation. From what we know, Izanagi's Seal should have been impossible to break."

Tessai nodded in agreement. As a former Kido Corps Commander, he was one of the very few people who understood exactly how the powerful sealing spell worked. In fact, he had personally inspected Takahashi's seal. Theoretically, there was no way to break it from the inside. Even doing so from the outside required nothing less than a Kido Master on his or Hachi's level. No matter how proficient Takahashi may have been with Kido, there was simply no way he could have escaped on his own.

Urahara seemed lost in thought. He was a bit worried about Yoruichi, since she still hadn't come back. Knowing her though, she was perfectly fine and would probably be back soon. He pushed his concerns away for the time being. "Katsumi Takahashi, " he spoke lowly. "I honestly hadn't expected to hear that name ever again. There's not that many people left who still remember him."

"Not by that name at least," Ukitake said. "His legend still lives on. Even if it has been over a hundred years since that horrible battle, people still remember the Angel of Death." Ukitake smiled weakly. The smile turned into a grimace as he remembered what had happened in the Seireitei 112 years ago. What he and the other captains had been forced to do. "After what we did to him, it's no surprise he wants to see us suffer."

 


	7. Chapter 7

### Chapter 7: The Waiting Game

With the passing of the weekend came a brand new school week, and needless to say, Ichigo had not been able to get a lot of sleep that night.

Between the awkward situation with Grimmjow, losing his powers and the fact that yet another highly dangerous individual with a grudge against Soul Society was out there, Ichigo had more than enough to worry about. School was definitely something he could have done without at the moment. Even so, with all the classes he had already missed thanks to his Hollow-hunting escapades, he couldn't possibly afford to skip any more. Miss Ochi had already threatened to hold him back a year if there were any more unexplained absences. So when at the end of the day the final bell rang, Ichigo had never felt so relieved.

"Finally," he muttered groggily to himself as he raised his head from his desk. His Math notebook, which he had been using as an improvised pillow, had gotten stuck to his cheek, with his own drool acting as glue. Orihime giggled when she noticed. She sat next to him, and had done her best to keep him somewhat awake during class, but had eventually given up and allowed him to sleep through last period.

"Kurosaki-kun..." she started, pointing a finger at his face.

"Huh?" he replied eloquently. He felt at his face, quickly finding the offending paper and pulling it off. "Oh," he said, rubbing the dried drool of his cheek. He shook his head in attempt to get rid of the drowsiness.

"You didn't get a lot of sleep, did you Kurosaki?" Ishida remarked. It was basically his way of asking 'are you doing okay, Ichigo?'.

"No," he replied while in the middle of a giant yawn, "had too much on my mind." Seeing that his friends were already set to go, Ichigo hastily began to gather his books and pens, messily stuffing everything into his bag.

"I wonder how Jaegerjaquez-san is doing," Orihime spoke up. "He didn't seem to be very happy about having to stay with mister Urahara."

"I'm sure Tessai has plenty of ways to keep him busy," Ichigo chuckled. Then he cringed as he remembered the little mouse-hunting adventure from yesterday. There was never going to be any mention of that again, ever.

"I still can't believe you actually let him into your house," Uryu admonished him. "Who knows what could have happened if something had put him in the wrong mood. From what I've heard, he's not exactly stable, even by Espada standards." Since Uryu had been among the people who had fought Szayelaporro, who had been the looniest of the Espada by a huge margin if even half of what Uryu had told him was true, Ichigo could understand him being a bit high-strung over the situation with Grimmjow.

Ichigo heaved his school bag over his shoulder. "First of all, Yuzu's the one who let him in. I tried to stop her, but it was already too late. Besides, everything turned out fine, didn't it?" he waved Uryu's concerns away. His lightheartedness over the situation only served to agitate Uryu even more.

"Could you please take this seriously, Kurosaki?" he said between clenched teeth. There were still some people in the room, and Uryu would rather not have anyone overhearing their conversation. "Letting what's basically a dangerous sociopath into your house is no trivial matter! Don't you have any concern for the rest of your family?" Okay, now that was crossing the line.

"Uryu," Ichigo spoke heavily. Orihime and Chad visibly stiffened. A group of girls that had been chatting turned their heads to look at him. "Do you honestly believe I would willingly endanger my sisters?" He shot the Quincy a cold look. "If I, or my dad for that matter, had noticed even the slightest indication that Grimmjow meant to hurt any of us, I guarantee you he wouldn't be breathing right now." His expression was dead serious. None of them doubted that Ichigo would have killed Grimmjow without any hesitation if he had tried doing any harm to his sisters. He was incredibly protective of those two.

Uryu had the decency to look somewhat embarrassed, at least. "You- you're right. I apologize, Kurosaki. I went too far. But still," he continued, straightening his back. "I stand by what I said before. You have got to take this more seriously. If you truly believe the Espada doesn't pose a threat, I'll trust your judgment. Just don't forget that you're dealing with a Hollow here, not a human, despite what he may look like."

"Trust me, I haven't," Ichigo replied darkly, clearly remembering the bloodlust Grimmjow had displayed yesterday when Takahashi's name was mentioned. "Alright then, ready to go?" he asked the others. Receiving three affirmatives from his friends, Ichigo set off toward Urahara.

* * *

"So why exactly are coming with us again, Ishida?" Ichigo asked. They were already nearing their destination, so it was a little to bring this up now. "You hate Soul Reapers, don't you? Why would you wanna help fight Takahashi?"

Uryu pushed his glasses back up his nose before answering. "Don't get me wrong, Kurosaki. I couldn't care less if that man single-handedly burnt the entire Seireitei to the ground. That's not my problem. However, if he were to show up here in the human world, then it _would_ be my problem. And I'd like to be somewhat prepared in case that were to happen."

Ichigo nodded, understanding the logic behind his words. Karakura was after all a very important location to spiritual beings. It was certainly possible that Takahashi would have reason to come here. And if he did, Ichigo seriously doubted the Afro Guy (he seemed to be incapable of remembering that man's name) would be able to stop him by himself.

When the group walked up to the shop, Jinta was already outside, sweeping away as usual. "Oh, it's you guys!" he called out to them, seeming happy to have an excuse to stop working. He carelessly dropped his broom and walked up to the approaching group. "I'm afraid the boss-man's a little busy right now."

"Did something come up?" Uryu inquired.

"They're looking for miss Yoruichi. She went to Hueco Mundo yesterday to find out what that Takahashi guy was doing, but they lost contact with her about two hours after she left. Boss already opened the Garganta five times, but she missed it each time." Jinta was trying to make it sound like none of it really concerned him, but it was obvious he was at least a little worried.

The news instantly put the group on alert. "She's been in Hueco Mundo all that time?" Ichigo worriedly exclaimed. "Why the hell didn't Hat-and-clogs go after her?" he added heatedly, not understanding what the shopkeeper was thinking. Had he still had his powers, he would have already stormed inside, demanding Urahara send him to Hueco Mundo immediately.

Jinta huffed. "Not too bright, are ya?" he asked mockingly.

With great effort, Ichigo managed to hold back his angry retort.

"Have you already forgotten just how big a place Hueco Mundo is? You can't just storm in there hoping you'll happen to run across miss Yoruichi! That's a surefire way to get ambushed."

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Orihime interrupted Jinta.

Jinta looked up at her. His gaze lingered just south of her face for a bit. A mild blush appeared on his cheeks; in spite of all the attitude he put up, he still couldn't handle talking to a pretty girl very well. Especially one with Orihime's 'assets'. "Y-yeah, maybe. Come on in. They're down at the lab." He lead the group inside the shop. Instead of opening up the hidden panel that led to the training room, he took them further inside.

"I didn't know Urahara had a lab here." Chad spoke up for the first time in quite a while. The teen still preferred to remain silent most of the time, only vocalizing his thoughts when he deemed it necessary. It was a good thing he had such an imposing figure. It would have been really easy to forget he was there otherwise.

"Hmm?" Jinta turned to the much taller teen. "Oh yeah, that's because he only built it two weeks ago. He managed to guilt trip Soul Society into giving him the money he needed," the boy casually stated. Everyone present sweatdropped. They stopped at a door that Ichigo remembered leading to a hall closet. When he opened it though, a wide, stone stairway that lead down into the earth greeted them. Some wall lights were placed every ten or so steps, allowing them to see, but the overall appearance was still rather unappealing. "Down there," Jinta gestured with his thumb.

"Thank you for showing us the way, Jinta-kun!" Orihime happily thanked him and headed down the stairs without a second thought, not seeming to find any of this strange whatsoever. The three male members of the group glanced at each other wearily. None of them really felt like going down those stairs. For all they knew, they led straight down into some underground dungeon, or even Hell itself. After everything they had been through with Urahara, they didn't consider anything outside the realm of possibility where that man was involved. Unfortunately, it wasn't like they had much of a choice. They couldn't let Orihime go down there by herself.

Ichigo sighed wearily and went down after her. Chad and Uryu were quick to follow behind. Jinta shut the door behind them with a loud click that echoed ominously between the stone walls.

"How far down does this go?" Ichigo complained out loud.

"It's okay! I can already see the end! There's a big door!" Orihime's voice echoed from somewhere far below them. They sped up their pace in order to catch up to her.

After walking down four flights of stairs, they arrived at a set of reinforced double doors. They were solid metal, and seemed to be at least a couple inches thick. Numerous protective wards and sigils littered the otherwise smooth surface of the door. It didn't take a genius to figure out that that was Tessai's handiwork. Knowing Urahara, he had designed this place to be all but impossible for any intruders to get into.

Ichigo tried banging his fist against the door to let Urahara know they were there, but he couldn't even make contact with the metal: his hand was deflected by an invisible barrier just before it could reach the door. It seemed to have had some effect, though: grinding noises began to reverberate from within the door itself as some internal mechanism was activated. With one loud, final click it became silent again. They waited expectantly.

Ichigo looked at his friends when nothing seemed to happen, unsure of what to do next. "Perhaps there's a microphone here somewhere, something we can use to contact Urahara," Ishida spoke up, always quick to come up with ideas. He started looking around, running his hands along the walls in the hope of finding some hidden device. "Yeah, good idea," Ichigo agreed, starting to search the other wall.

"I'll just run back upstairs and ask Jinta-kun to help us out," Orihime offered. She already had one foot on the stairs when Chad spoke up again. "Um, guys?"

Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at him. "Door's open." He simply pushed and the door effortlessly swung wide open.

Ishida coughed, trying to hide his embarrassment. "Or, that works too, I suppose." They all sheepishly followed Chad inside. The door closed behind them once everyone had entered the laboratory, the same grinding noises from before indicating it was being locked again.

The space before them was a pristine white. It had a high ceiling, and was easily the size of half a football field. Large pieces of sophisticated-looking equipment were placed all around the room. A few Ichigo could recognize, like the MRI-scanner standing in the corner, but he hadn't the slightest clue as to what many of the others could have possibly been used for.

"How the hell did Hat-and-clogs build this without anyone finding out?" Ichigo wondered aloud.

"Oh, I have my ways." The group turned in the direction the voice had come from. The shopkeeper was bent over a console, furiously typing away at the keyboard. They walked over to Urahara, studying the various pieces of equipment they passed. There were even a few working stations similar to those at the school's lab, but on a much grander scale. The chemicals they held also didn't look like anything you'd ever find inside of a school building. There was one flask that held a burning, dark blue liquid- even though the flask appeared airtight and therefore no oxygen should haven been able to get in.

The largest, most impressive piece of machinery was placed against the back wall. It took up nearly the entirety of said wall, and consisted of many series of interconnecting pipelines that led to and from four square towers that seemed to house a lot of electronics, if the buzzing sound they gave off was any indication. Flanked by two of the towers on each side, and also connected to the pipelines, was a large, circular, black structure. It was pretty much the only thing in the room that wasn't some shade of white, and Ichigo couldn't even hazard a guess as to what material it was made of. Inside of the circle formed by the unknown material was an open, perfectly round Garganta.

Now wasn't the time to be mesmerized by the interior, however. "We heard about miss Yoruichi," Orihime spoke up as they approached the shopkeeper. "Is there anything we can do to help?"

Urahara looked up at her. Ichigo noticed right away that he had heavy, dark circles under his eyes and that he hadn't even had a chance to shave yet. His eyes were bloodshot, and he seemed seriously out of sorts. Ichigo had always thought of Urahara as the one person that could remain calm under just about any circumstances. Clearly that didn't hold true when one of his oldest friends was in a potentially life-threatening situation.

 _'Or maybe it's already too late...'_ a voice in the back of Ichigo's mind whispered. He quickly cleared his head of those thoughts. He couldn't think like that right now, not while there was still a good chance Yoruichi was perfectly alright. For all they knew, she had just been hiding somewhere until the coast was clear, and had purposely disabled communications so that she wouldn't accidentally give her position away. ' _Yeah, that's a perfectly good explanation,'_ Ichigo thought, and convinced himself that everything would turn out fine.

The shopkeeper paused for just a second as he thought it over. "Alright, why not." He immediately went back to his computer and opened up some new windows on the screen. "I'm adjusting the Garganta to convert your bodies into Reishi when you enter." Some sparks jumped between the edge of the Garganta and the black circle around it as he said so. "Sado-san and Ishida-san?" he addressed the two.

"I'll go," Chad affirmed right away. Uryuu looked pensive, remaining silent for a moment. "I'm not supposed to affiliate myself with Soul Reapers anymore," he started hesitantly. "But then again, since you're not part of the Gotei, I suppose it would be alright. I'll go too."

Urahara flashed them a smile. "I'm grateful, Ishida-san, Sado-san. As for you, Inoue-san-"

"I know. I'll stay here with Ichigo," she said unfazed. She already knew she would only make things more difficult for the others if she came along. Since she was pretty much useless in a fight, it would only force them to divide their attention between fighting the enemy and protecting her. Plus, they couldn't risk Orihime getting injured, as she was their best healer and they might need her abilities later.

Ichigo on the other hand, was a bit perturbed. Now that he was no longer a Shinigami, there was nothing he could do to help out. He clenched his fists as he watched Uryu and Chad walk over to the portal. He wouldn't be able to protect them. If something happened to either of them, he'd never forgive himself.

Urahara threw them both a small communications device. "I don't know if these will do you much good. We suddenly lost contact with Yoruichi too last night," he explained while they put the device over their ears. "Meet up with Tessai when you get there. He's placing scanning devices over a large area. He'll tell you what to do once you get there. He's suppressing his Reiatsu though, so I'll guide you to him. Any questions?" Receiving two negative responses, Urahara went back to his console. "Good luck, then."

Both teens nodded, and jumped into the portal. Ichigo watched as they were swallowed by the black void. Now, they waited.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Ichigo's nerves were pretty much shot. Orihime had tried her best to distract him with small talk, but it had been to no avail. All he could think about was if Chad and Uryu were safe, and if Yoruichi was even still alive.

He hated it. He hated it so freaking much to be stuck here while his friends were out there, risking their lives in what was pretty much the most dangerous place in the universe. Urahara was no help either; he was just as stressed out as Ichigo was, if not more. He contacted one of the people in Hueco Mundo every few minutes, and from the snippets of conversation Ichigo could pick up, he could tell that so far nothing really big had happened. Just some minor skirmishes with Adjuchas-class Hollows.

They had already conducted a quick scan of Las Noches' interior, hoping to find Yoruichi or Nel there, but the fortress was completely abandoned from what they could see. That last tidbit of news had certainly contributed to Ichigo's current mental state. Grimmjow had said that Las Noches was supposed to be a safe haven for the Arrancar now. If no one was there, then it could only mean something bad had happened there. And Takahashi had most likely been involved.

"Why don't you two go upstairs for a while?" Urahara's voice broke the tense silence. He turned to look at them. "There's no point in sitting around here, getting all wound up for no reason."

Ichigo was about to make a heated retort, but Orihime spoke up before he could. She was the only person in the room that had managed to keep her cool. "I believe it would be best if we stayed here. If they come back and anyone's injured, I should be here to heal them." She spoke with a steady voice, which was more than Ichigo was currently capable of.

"Don't worry. I'll let you know when they're on their way back here. Or if anything unexpected happens." Sensing they would continue to protest, Urahara kept on talking. "There's also something I'd like you two to look at. With captain Ukitake's help, I was able to obtain quite a bit of information on Takahashi. I didn't have time to go over everything yet, but the material is all there. I'm sure there's plenty we can learn from it."

Ichigo still wasn't convinced, but Orihime realized Urahara was right. They were just wasting time and gradually wearing themselves down by staying here. "Alright," she said as she stood up.

"But-" Ichigo wanted to protest, only to be interrupted by Orihime. "We should at least go and eat something, Kurosaki-kun. If you really want to come back here that badly, we'll just bring the information Urahara-san mentioned back with us when we're done and look at it here. Alright?"

Ichigo sighed. He couldn't argue with that. Urahara seemed to be agreeing with Orihime's compromise as well. "I left the files in the spare room, the one Jaegerjaquez-san is currently in." When he saw their surprised looks, he continued: "He seemed very interested to learn more about Takahashi. Maybe you should ask him if he managed to discover something useful."

"Alright. We'll get going then." Ichigo started heading toward the exit. He attempted to push open the massive doors, forgetting they had been locked tight automatically once they had entered. He was just about to ask Urahara to let them out, when the grinding noise from the gate's internal mechanism reached his ears. "Urahara? Did you do that?" he asked, slightly confused.

"No," the shopkeeper replied, "Tessai designed it to respond to your Spiritual signatures. You can all enter and leave any time you want."

Ichigo and Orihime looked at each other, a bit surprised that Urahara would trust them to the extent of allowing them free access to his lab. It was rather uncharacteristic for the usually so secretive shopkeeper. It was probably just for convenience' sake, though. "If anything happens, anything at all, let us know." When the shopkeeper nodded, Ichigo finally relented and pushed the massive doors open.

Four flights of stairs later, they were back above ground. Light flowed into the hallway through one of the windows. Ichigo had almost forgotten it was still daytime, seeing as there was no way for natural light to get down to the laboratory.

"It feels good to be out of there, huh, Kurosaki-kun?" Orihime asked while she stretched.

"Yeah, I guess," he responded a bit unenthusiastically.

"Why don't you go ahead and get started on those files mister Urahara mentioned? I'll try and find us something to eat." Alarm bells went off inside Ichigo's mind.

He wanted to protest, but Orihime had already taken off in search of... 'food'. He sighed, figuring it wasn't worth the effort to try and convince her to switch jobs with him, so he set off toward Grimmjow's room by himself. He felt a little anxious about seeing the Espada again. Yesterday may have gone surprisingly well, but this was Grimmjow he was dealing with: for all he know the Espada had already thought up fifty different ways to kill everyone in the building and make a break for Hueco Mundo in the time he hadn't seen him. Uryu had been right about Grimmjow, though he hated to admit it. It was still a Hollow they were dealing with here, he just happened to be one that came in a human package.

He stopped in front of the sliding door leading to Grimmjow's room, taking a deep breath in order to steel himself. _Here goes nothing,_ he thought to himself, knocked softly on the door's wooden frame, and entered the room.

He was met by piercing blue eyes right away. "Kurosaki? The hell are you doing in here?" Grimmjow asked rather rudely. He was sitting cross-legged on his bed, and had a large binder laying in his lap. Pictures and documents were spread out on the floor all around him.

"I came to look at..." he noticed one of the pictures on the floor was of a certain brown-haired Shinigami. "Those, actually," he said, pointing to the binder in Grimmjow's lap.

"Oh," Grimmjow said with obvious annoyance. He continued looking through the files, not even sparing Ichigo another glance.

Ichigo clenched his teeth. He didn't take kindly to being ignored like that. He was already in a foul enough mood. What he certainly didn't need right now was that blue-haired prick driving him up the wall even further. He resolutely walked over to the futon and sat down right next to Grimmjow, being extra careful not to step on anything as he went. He didn't say another word as he picked up the closest documents and started to read.

"Kurosaki."

He looked at Grimmjow, face completely neutral. "Yes?"

"You're on my bed." Grimmjow didn't look very happy about that. Good.

"And?" he asked, expression still the epitome of calm.

"Get off." Grimmjow waited expectantly for Ichigo to comply.

The teen stayed still for a moment, as if he was considering it. "No," he eventually said, and focused his attention back on the papers in his hands. He could swear he had seen Grimmjow's eye twitch.

"And why not, exactly?" Grimmjow asked, voice sounding strained with barely suppressed rage.

"Because I don't want to sit on the floor," Ichigo replied absently. He had found something rather interesting. He didn't see the nasty look Grimmjow was sending him, nor how the man was clenching his fists.

He had picked up a picture that showed a group of twenty-something Shinigami. They were divided into two rows, with the people in the front row sitting down so that the ones in the back were visible too. A captain and his lieutenant stood a little to the left of the others, distinguishable from the rest of the group by their white haori and lieutenant's badge.

Ichigo guessed them to be the seated members of squad six, judging from the fact only about two dozen Shinigami were pictured. And it wasn't exactly hard to recognize the sixth division's barracks behind them. Plus, their captain was so obviously a member of the Kuchiki family, it was a dead giveaway really. The man wearing the white haori had long, gray hair that neatly fell down his back and a perfectly-kept mustache. He had the exact same, stern look in his eyes as Byakuya did and was even wearing a similar - if not the very same - scarf as him. Standing by his side was a black-haired vice-captain that looked almost identical to Byakuya. If he hadn't been smiling, something Ichigo couldn't even imagine Byakuya doing, Ichigo would have probably thought it was him. Now that he thought about it, these two were most likely Byakuya's father and grandfather. Interesting as that was, what had really caught his attention in the first place was the man sitting on the outer right of the front row.

"That's Takahashi!" He could easily recognize him since he looked pretty much the same back then as he did now. The only difference was that his hair wasn't as long in the picture. He turned the photo around, looking at the date on the back. "This is from 157 years ago," he muttered to himself.

Grimmjow looked over his shoulder, curious as to what had captured Ichigo's attention.

Ichigo turned the picture around again. He started counting the Shinigami. "Seventh, no, Eighth Seat," he murmured.

"What is it?" Grimmjow asked.

Ichigo jerked a little upon realizing how close the Espada was. He had been so engrossed in his findings he hadn't even noticed. "It's just a little odd, is all. Urahara said he was captain of the third division. So what's he doing here as Eighth Seat of the sixth?" He handed the picture to Grimmjow after giving it one final glance. "If Urahara's theory is right, he should have gained most of his power while he was still alive," He explained while Grimmjow studied the photo. "But if he's in the Gotei, he should have already been dead. Well, his body should have been... You know what I mean," he finished lamely. "Anyway, from what I've seen, anything below Third Seat is usually cannon fodder when compared to a captain."

Grimmjow put the picture back down, apparently done looking at it. "So that's what he looks like," Grimmjow said with a small, predatory grin. Now that he knew what Takahashi looked like in human form, he had a target he could hunt down. He turned to look at Ichigo. "About what you were saying; he's probably just trying to keep a low profile. I mean, think about it. He has Hollow powers doesn't he? And I know Soul Society's not particularly fond of people like that. I'd lay low too if I were him."

Ichigo considered it - Grimmjow did make a good point. Before he could comment however, Orihime entered the room, carrying a tray with five plastic cups of instant noodles. "Dinner's ready!" She exclaimed cheerfully. Ichigo felt a wave of relief wash over him the moment he saw what she had brought. There was simply no way she could have messed up instant noodles... Right?

"I thought you might have been hungry, so I brought some for you too, Jaegerjaquez-san," she said politely as she placed the tray on the ground, in one of the few places there were no papers scattered about.

Orihime and Grimmjow each took a cup from the plate, with the latter studying the contents suspiciously. He checked the noodles for poisonous substances by smelling it, just like he'd done with his food last night. "It looks kinda like spaghetti," he murmured more to himself than to the other people in the room. "Really gross, soggy spaghetti."

Ichigo snorted. "It's supposed to look like that, don't worry. Try tasting it!" he encouraged Grimmjow.

Grimmjow inspected the contents of his cup one last time before picking up a fork. Under the expectant gazes of both Ichigo and Orihime, he carefully twirled some noodles around his fork, just like how Ichigo had taught him. He chewed slowly, facial expression not betraying whether he liked it or not. He swallowed and licked his lips. "'s not bad," he eventually decided, and started wolfing down the rest like he was a starving man, slurping and loudly smacking his mouth with no manners whatsoever.

Ichigo rolled his eyes at the display and turned back to Orihime to update her on what he and Grimmjow had discovered in the files Urahara had provided.

"Well, it's certainly a possibility that he wanted to hide his Hollow powers," she agreed with Grimmjow's theory. She gathered up some of the papers scattered at her knees and quickly skimmed through them. "But we won't get anywhere if everything is spread around like this. We should sort them chronologically."

Ichigo shot a glare at Grimmjow, who had just started working on his second cup. "What?" he asked, sucking a stray noodle into his mouth. "It was already a big mess when the shopkeeper gave me that binder. I doubt I could have made it any worse."

Ignoring Grimmjow, he started helping Orihime sort through everything. He used the picture of the old Squad 6 as a starting point, and placed everything that came before or after the date on the picture either to the left or right of it respectively.

They quickly came to the conclusion that not much was being added on the left side. So far, the only thing that had been placed on the 'before' side was a pretty standard-looking form that stated Takahashi had joined Squad 6. It was dated about a year earlier than the picture.

"It's strange that we can't find anything on him before that date," Orihime mused once they had finished sorting everything. "It's like he just appeared out of nowhere one day and was accepted into squad 6 right away." She started listing the possible scenarios. "If he had joined the normal way, there should be records of him having been to the Soul Reaper Academy. From what we know about him that seems pretty unlikely, so I think we can cross that option off the list. Another possibility is that someone who was already a member of the division wanted him to join, but then there should at least be a letter of recommendation or something..." she trailed off.

It was pretty easy to forget, since she tended to act like a total klutz most of the time, but Orihime was still one of the smartest people he knew. She was great to have around at a time like this. Not that Ichigo was stupid by any means, but this really wasn't his area of expertise. "I don't know, Orihime. And I doubt we'll be able to figure it out with what we have here." He put down an old report about how Takahashi and a few members of his squad had taken down some Hollows in the human world. "Let's focus on something else for now."

She nodded in agreement and moved closer to the much larger 'After' side. "I think this is a good place to start," she said, holding up an old newspaper article. The large, flashy headline read 'Squad six member kills Captain of Squad three in honorable combat'. In the center of the article was a large, black-and-white picture of Takahashi and what was most likely the aforementioned captain battling it out, surrounded by over a hundred onlooking Shinigami. "I guess now we know how he went from sixth seat to captain so quickly."

Grimmjow suddenly laughed unexpectedly, drawing their attention. "Seriously?" he asked, putting down his third cup. " _That's_ how you become a Captain? By slaughtering the guy who came before you in front of hundreds of onlookers? And Shinigami have the nerve to call _us_ barbarians." He scratched his chin. "Actually, that does sound like it could be fun..."

Orihime opened her mouth, most likely to explain how that method was rarely ever used and a more humane approach was generally preferred, but she was interrupted by Ichigo's text message notification sound. Fishing his phone out of his jeans' pocket, he took a quick look at the screen. The message was from Urahara, and there were only three words: 'They found her'.

His heart started working overtime. "They're on their way!" he hurriedly explained to Orihime as he got up from the floor. She instantly dropped the article she was holding and got up as well. They both bolted out of the room, not even sparing a very confused Grimmjow a second glance.


	8. Chapter 8

### Chapter 8: Suspense

Chad and Uryuu were dashing through the white desert as fast as their legs could carry them. While they had succeeded in their mission to find Yoruichi, there had been some complications. Right now however, there was another, rather more urgent problem that they needed to worry about.

"Sado! Behind you!" Uryu yelled when he sensed Takahashi's incoming attack. Chad leaped upward just in time to avoid getting hit by a bright red comet the size of a bowling ball, but the force behind the explosion it caused sent him flying higher than he had intended to go. He had to do some rather impressive aerial acrobatics in order to regain his balance, but somehow he managed it, even while holding a mostly unresponsive Yoruichi in his arms.

He made it back to the ground safely and caught back up with Uryu, uttering a quick thank-you for the heads-up. While it would certainly make it easier for them to maneuver, staying in mid-air would also serve to make them a bigger target to a long-range fighter like Takahashi. Annoying as it was, they needed to stay down on the desert sand.

Facing backward while maintaining his current speed, Uryu fired off a couple hundred arrows in the span of two seconds, all of them headed in their pursuers direction. This forced Takahashi to block the ones that would have otherwise hit him with a transparent barrier, and allowed the pair to gain some distance on him.

It helped a lot that their pursuer was only able to use one of his arms due to the earlier fight he had partaken in; he had the other one in an improvised sling that appeared to be made out of fabric torn from his Soul Reaper uniform. Uryu remembered Ichigo saying that the man had gotten hit by a massive fireball - courtesy of Captain Yamamoto - during the fight in the Seireitei. The results of that attack were still clearly visible: only the Vizard's hand stuck out of the sling, and if the rest of his arm looked the same, Uryu could certainly understand why he wasn't using it.

That lump of flesh could hardly even be called a hand. The skin was a pale rosy color and appeared to have creases running all over it: unmistakably the result of a partially healed, nasty burn. There were no identifiable fingernails, and the injured hand appeared to be smaller than the other one, as if it was only made up of bone with a thin layer of skin draped over it. Still, from what he'd been told, Uryu had expected it to look even worse than it already did. Then again, taking into account Takahashi's Hollow powers, he had probably started to regenerate it already.

Even with just one functioning arm however, they could not afford to underestimate Takahashi. They had already found that out the hard way when they had lost Tessai.

It had happened so fast. They had just found Yoruichi, hiding under some rubble that had once been a part of Las Noches. Tessai had contacted Urahara, confirming that they had located her. Then, all communication had suddenly been cut off, and the walls of a black box had risen up from the very ground Tessai was standing on. He could only yell at Uryu and Chad to start running before the box had sealed him in. Sharp protrusions had appeared all over the surface of the box right after that, making them fear the worst for the man inside.

"We're almost at the Garganta, miss Yoruichi," he heard Chad muttering quietly to the woman he was carrying. "Orihime is on stand-by at the lab, she'll take care of your injuries," he tried to encourage her. She didn't give any indication she'd heard him, just kept breathing heavily with her eyes closed and teeth clenched due to the pain she was in.

Takahashi wasn't the only injured one here. Yoruichi had also acquired quite the collection of nasty burn marks during her stay in Hueco Mundo. Angry red lines ran crisscross over her entire body, with some very painful-looking blisters here and there. She had covered the worst of her wounds with bandages, but she didn't have nearly enough on her to take care of all the injuries she had sustained.

Chad couldn't help but feel bad that he was unwillingly causing her even more pain just by holding her. When they had found her she had already been injured, so Uryu couldn't be a hundred percent certain as to what had caused it. However, the electrically charged, freaking _invisible_ Kido webs that they had passed were a pretty safe bet in his opinion. Uryu could only hope that they wouldn't run into more of them on their way to the portal.

He took another look at their pursuer. They were nearing the Garganta, and Takahashi would be getting desperate now that it had become apparent he wouldn't be able to catch up.

Strangely enough, he wasn't even chasing them anymore. He was standing perfectly still, and was simply observing them. Perhaps he had given up and decided to let them go? Uryu mentally kicked himself for even considering that option. There was no way in hell that he would let them get away that easily; he was up to something, Uryu was sure of it. He stopped running and turned to face Takahashi.

Upon noticing that Uryu wasn't following him anymore, Chad come to a halt as well, not too far from his position. "Uryu, why are you-?"

"Don't stop!" Uryu barked. He didn't take his eyes off of their pursuer. Even from this distance, he could see Takahashi's mouth twisting into a smirk. "Whatever you do, don't stop running. Keep going until you've made it back to Urahara's."

Chad grit his teeth. He wanted so badly to protest, to say that he wasn't leaving him behind like this, but Chad knew he had no choice right now. He had to make sure Yoruichi made it back home. That was the task both Tessai, and now Uryu as well, had entrusted to him. "Make sure you come back," he told Uryu as he turned back around. Yoruichi let out a gasp, as if she wanted to protest, but the teen ignored her.

"Of course. I'm not planning on sacrificing myself, I'm not that stupid. Now go." He heard Chad take off, and focused his attention back on Takahashi.

"Staying behind to buy enough time for your friend to escape. How admirable," Takahashi commended him.

Uryu clicked his teeth in annoyance. "When did I ask for your opinion on the matter?" he snidely remarked. If Takahashi was going to waste time with small talk, Uryu would be taking full advantage of that. If he could keep him busy for just a little while longer, there was no doubt that Chad would be able to make it back safely.

"You didn't, I suppose," he answered stand-offishly. "I just thought that it might have been a good way to break the ice between us," he said, still smiling.

Uryu racked his brain to find a suitable response, preferably one that would distract Takahashi from chasing after Chad. Drawing out a conversation wasn't exactly his strong suit. He was usually the one who took advantage of the situation when his opponent was too focused on talking, not the other way around. "You wanted to 'break the ice'? After what you did, _now_ you want to try and have a civilized conversation?" Uryu sneered at Takahashi. "You must be delusional."

Takahashi stopped smiling as a small frown appeared on his features. "That was rather harsh. I assume you're referring to what I did to the orange-haired Soul Reaper?" Uryu's silence was all the confirmation he needed. "I see. So he's your friend. I was wondering what a Quincy was doing helping out Soul Reapers. Now it makes sense."

Uryu's eye twitched. "Kurosaki, my friend?" Uyru readied his bow. "Please don't insult me like that." He had sensed Chad's Reiatsu reaching the Garganta's location and completely disappearing just a moment later. Now that Chad and Yoruichi were safe, all Uryu needed to do was get away from Takahashi as well.

His opponent just snorted in response, not looking the least bit intimidated. "If your _friend_ hadn't gotten involved, he wouldn't have gotten hurt. Simple as that. You, for that matter," he glared at Uryu, "should have just stayed out of this too."

All of a sudden Takahashi's Reiatsu crashed into Uryu like a tidal wave. He staggered backwards at least a full two meters just from the sheer force it possessed. Theoretically, if the air was being saturated with so much Reiryoku it should have been advantageous for a Quincy. In this situation though, there was simply far too much of it. Uryu was being completely overwhelmed.

 _'This is insane!'_ he thought to himself, his entire body shaking like a leaf as he struggled to stay upright.

"Done already?" Takahashi spoke up in mocking tone. That annoying smirk had found it's way back onto his face.

Uryu was unable to even voice a retort. He sunk to his knees, having trouble catching his breath. Sweat was pouring down his face.

He put one of his hands on the ground in an attempt to steady himself. Never had he experienced anything like this. Kurotsuchi, Szayel... their Reiatsu couldn't even begin to compare. Not even the thick, heavy Reiatsu emitted by the second stage of Ulquiorra's Resurreccion had managed to overwhelm him like this. He could still move, but his mobility would be severely impaired as long as he was subject to such monstrous Reiatsu. In his current state, Uryu wouldn't even be able to slow Takahashi down.

Now Uryu understood how someone as experienced and well-versed in Kido as Tessai had gone down so quickly. If Takahashi hadn't wasted time by talking to him and unleashed the full force of his Reiatsu right from the start, he would have stood a decent chance of catching up to Chad.

Takahashi slowly began to walk toward him, wearing an unreadable expression.

Mustering up all the strength he could in this situation, Uryu forced himself to stand upright and used Hirenkyaku to try and put some distance between himself and his adversary. He dashed toward a rather large piece of rock, hoping to use it as a form of cover. Conveniently for him, his immediate surroundings were littered with many more of these large stones. Together with the white sand and the tree-like formations of minerals that popped up here and there, the area looked like some sort of a giant Zen garden. If he could use his high-speed technique to quickly move from cover to cover, he just might have a chance of leaving this place alive.

He ran faster than he'd ever done before. Even as he weaved between the rock formations at breakneck speeds, he could sense his pursuer always just a few steps behind him. Now that Uryu had gotten somewhat used to the crushing Reiatsu, he found he could turn the disadvantages it offered into benefits by absorbing the readily available Reiryoku in the air and using it to power his Hirenkyaku. He thanked whatever gods were out there that Takahashi wasn't a speed demon like captain Kuchiki or Soi Fon.

Sensing a strange disturbance in the space directly ahead of him, Uryu made a sharp turn to the left, deviating from his intended route to the Garganta. It was a good thing he had been able to react so quickly; if he had kept going in that direction, he would have ran head-first into a translucent barrier placed there by the rogue Shinigami and probably cracked his skull open. Despite managing to evade the trap, he wasn't in the clear yet.

Thanks to his earlier experience with the cloaked Kido webs, Uryu knew right away what that strange, barely noticeable shimmering ahead of him was. Fortunately, he had also found a way to remove the traps without too much difficulty.

He rematerialized his bow and let loose a salvo of arrows. The vast majority of them passed right on through, but only one of them needed to hit. When one did, the entire area was lit up by bright arcs of electricity that originated from a single point - namely where the arrow had made contact - and spread out from there like a spider's web, showing just how large the Kido web had been. It spanned at least twenty meters, and was nearly twice as high as Uryu was tall. They had passed quite a few similar traps while searching for Yoruichi, but none of them compared to the sheer size of this one. It was like a wall, placed there to prevent anyone from going any further.

The wall of light disappeared just a quickly as it had come, and Uryu made it through unharmed. That is, until his pursuer got tired of their little game of cat and mouse. Over the next couple of seconds, many things happened very fast.

First came the explosions. Over half a dozen of the same red comets that had been used against Chad earlier on hit as many locations around Uryu, causing sand to fly everywhere and effectively blinding him. After that, thanks to the huge cloud of sand obscuring his senses, he tripped on something he couldn't see and got a mouth full of sand as he made a spectacular faceplant. And finally, there was the bone-crushing force of a tremendous Spiritual Pressure weighing down on him. The sand slowly settled down again as Uryu lay on the ground, completely paralyzed.

Now that Takahashi, the source of the crushing Reiatsu, was standing less than half a meter away from him, something as simple as moving had become a nearly unattainable feat. Clearly, Uryu had bitten off more then he could chew this time.

The man sighed deeply as he watched Uryu sprawled out on the desert sand. "Why is it that children keep getting in my way?" he asked, a hint of sadness in his voice. Uryu made a choking sound; it was all he could manage. The man standing in front of him slowly extended his arm, showing Uryu his open palm. Uryu sensed energy gathering in his hand as he began casting a spell.

This time, Uryu was completely, utterly _fucked_.

* * *

"Get ready, you two!" Urahara anxiously called out to Ichigo and Orihime. "Sado and Yoruichi have just entered the Garganta!"

They didn't need to be told twice. The pair immediately jumped out of their seats and took up position on both sides of the Garganta.

All this waiting and doing nothing had been seriously grinding on their nerves. Their only source of information right now was Urahara's monitor, which displayed the positions of everyone in Hueco Mundo by tracking their Reiatsu signatures. Direct communication with the search party had been cut off right after they had managed to find Yoruichi. It hadn't been hard to figure out why; a fifth marker had shown up on the screen, one with a much stronger reading than any of the others. It hadn't taken long before the little red dot representing Tessai had disappeared. From that point on, it had basically been a game of cat and mouse between the remaining parties. That had lasted until both Uryu's red dot and that of the group's pursuer stopped moving. They all knew what that meant.

Ichigo stared into the black void inside of the portal, waiting for the first two people to make it back to appear. He refused to believe that Uryu and Tessai were dead. Uryu was probably still fighting Takahashi; all they knew for sure was that the two of them had gone outside of the scanning devices' range. As for Tessai, there were many things that could have happened. Admittedly, none of those things could have been good, but Urahara himself had been the one to say that Tessai's signature had disappeared suspiciously fast. If he had really been killed, it should have steadily weakened, before eventually fading.

Orihime already summoned her fairies in case they would be needed. The two she had called out slowly circled around her, waiting for their owner's next command.

Ichigo clenched his fists, so tightly that his nails nearly broke the skin of his palms. _I should have been there with them!_ He was furious at himself. How could he be so goddamn useless at a time like this? Uryu and Tessai _had_ to make it back. If they didn't, he'd never be able to forgive himself.

He started grinding his teeth. Not just himself, he'd never forgive Takahashi either. A murderous rage welled up inside of him as he thought about Uryu going through a similar experience as what had happened to him in Soul Society. _I'll kill him..._ he thought darkly to himself. _I'll rip that bastard into pieces..._

"They're here!" Orihime suddenly called out. That snapped Ichigo out of his homicidal thoughts. He swallowed hard. He couldn't blame thoughts like that on his inner Hollow anymore.

This wasn't really the best time to worry about his mental state though. "Chad!" he called out when his best friend finally became visible in the distance. He was holding Yoruichi in his arms. That wasn't a good sign.

Chad increased his pace when he heard Ichigo calling out to him. With one big final leap, he jumped the last few meters and landed in between Orihime and Ichigo. "Orihime! Please, look after her!" He told her without missing a beat as he hurried over to one of the large working stations where he gently put Yoruichi down.

The girl instantly complied and had her fairies fly over to the injured woman. "Soten Kisshun!" she called out before she even got there, already forming the familiar oval-shaped bubble around Yoruichi's body.

Ichigo followed her as she ran to the woman's side, performing a visual check-up to see just how badly she was hurt. The angry red lines that covered her entire body instantly captured his attention. "Those are electrical burns," he muttered to himself. Occasionally assisting in his father's clinic, he had seen this type of burn quite a few times. From the way the lines ran across her body, it was like she had been wrapped from head to toe in live, exposed electrical wiring. While most likely incredibly painful, Yoruichi's burns weren't deadly. Most were first- or second-degree burns, but at certain points, especially where two lines intersected, her skin was already charred black, indicating a third-degree burn. It certainly wasn't pretty to look at, but at least her internal organs had not been affected.

Seeing how much Yoruichi was hurting, Orihime tried her hardest to undo the damage quickly. "It's alright, miss Yoruichi!" she encouraged her. "The pain will go away soon!"

Yoruichi turned her head to look at the girl. "Good," she managed to say while breathing heavily. "Thank you, Orihime."

Urahara constantly switched his gaze from the monitor to Yoruichi and back again. As much as he wanted to, he couldn't leave his post. Not until the others were safe as well.

"Chad," Ichigo started, "What happened to- hey! What are you doing?!" At Ichigo's yelling, everyone turned to look at Chad, who was running back toward the Garganta. "Urahara! Stop him!"

Urahara didn't need to be told. He slammed his fist down on the big red 'STOP' button on his control panel, causing the machine keeping the Garganta open to shut down instantly. Without the device acting to stabilize it, the portal was unable to maintain its integrity. The edge of the Garganta deformed as the portal shrunk and collapsed in on itself just a few seconds later, stopping Chad in his tracks.

"I have to go back!" he yelled at them. "Uryu's still fighting that guy!"

"No," Urahara stated with finality. He had already begun to restart the system. Without an open Garganta, he couldn't connect to the scanning devices in Hueco Mundo. "Not without a plan. If you went by yourself, you would just be the next one we'd lose contact with."

"I'm not leaving him behind!" Chad roared furiously, making Orihime flinch. "Open the portal, NOW!" It was a scary thing, seeing someone who was usually so gentle get so angry.

"I already am," the scientist stated calmly. "But you won't be going through it alone." As he talked, electrical arcs appeared within the large black ring that had contained the portal. "Kurosaki-san, come over here please."

Ichigo did as he was asked and went to stand next to Urahara. "I'm going to show you how to use the controls." Ichigo swallowed. There was no way in hell he could learn to use something so complicated that quickly.

"You already know how to interpret the map," Urahara went on. "Most likely, you won't need to do much more than tell us where to go. But just in case the portal malfunctions, I'll show you how to reboot the system. Watch closely."

Ichigo tried to memorize everything Urahara said and did. The technical stuff wasn't his forte, but right now he was the only one who could do it.

Meanwhile, the arcs in the portal all gathered into one horizontal blue line. "Then, all you have to do is push this button," Urahara continued. The blue line briefly bulged in the center, before splitting apart, revealing a black void inside. "And that's all there is to it," the man finished. There were some more sparks flying around while the Garganta grew larger. It stopped expanding when it reached the same size it had before. The entire process had taken less than two minutes.

"Now then, any questions?" Urahara asked him while already getting up and grabbing his cane. "No. I've got it." Ichigo mentally repeated everything Urahara had shown him. "Good, then we'll-"

"Wait!" Ichigo stopped him. "Look at the map, someone's there!" Urahara joined him at the console again. Indeed, another red dot had appeared. Its marker read 'UNKNOWN'.

Whoever it was, they were _fast._ The new arrival was heading straight for Tessai's last known location. "What the..." Urahara muttered. As Ichigo had expected, the dot stopped right where they had lost Tessai. After five very suspenseful seconds...

"He's back!" Another red dot popped up directly beside their unknown helper. A message in the bottom-right corner of the screen appeared: 'Reiatsu signature detected - Tessai Tsukabishi'.

Chad joined them behind the monitor. "Tessai-san's back?" He asked disbelievingly. They watched as both red dots started moving again after a while, heading in the general direction Uryu and Takahashi had ran off to.

Urahara looked indecisive. Eventually, he spoke up again. "Whoever that was, they seem to be on our side," he concluded, turning to face Chad. "Sado-san. You go on ahead. Try to join up with Tessai before we lose track of him again. I'll stay here for now."

Chad gave the man a curt nod before dashing straight to the portal and jumping in again without a second's hesitation.

"Let's hope this goes well," Urahara muttered. Ichigo nodded in agreement.

It took Chad about one minute to reach the other side of the portal. There at least, he was outside of the range of Takahashi's Reiatsu, so they were still able to communicate for now. Ichigo fetched a second chair from elsewhere in the lab so he could sit down next to Urahara and keep an eye on the map. Chad's marker moved according to Urahara's directions, heading along a path that would eventually intersect with that of Tessai and his mysterious rescuer.

"You're about to reach the edge the edge of the map, Sado-san," Urahara spoke into his headset after a while. "Good luck." The red dot reached the edge of the map and promptly disappeared. 'Signal lost: Sado Yasutora' appeared on the monitor. "And now," Urahara sighed, "we wait."

"Again," Ichigo added quietly. He was getting very tempted to just say 'screw it' and go to Hueco Mundo himself, powers or no. Yoruichi and Orihime walked up behind them, with the former already looking good as new. "How are you feeling, Yoruichi-san?"

"Much better now, thanks to Orihime," she muttered, sounding tired. Giving her a quick once-over, Ichigo saw that where there had been nasty burns before, there was now only smooth, unmarred skin.

Urahara smiled at her. "I'm really glad you're alright. You... you really had me worried there for a minute," he admitted awkwardly.

She smirked at her longtime friend. "Please. Getting all worried about me like that," she started teasing him. "There's a reason they call me the Goddess of Flash, you know? Even with those wounds, I was still running laps around that guy," she boasted haughtily. "Until the adrenaline wore off, at least..." she added almost inaudibly.

Urahara grinned a bit sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. "I know, I know. I just figured you could have used a little extra help."

Yoruichi put a hand on Urahara's shoulder, giving it a light squeeze. "Well, in that case I suppose I should be thanking you all." She turned to look at the monitor, which still wasn't displaying any red dots. "Now let's just hope the others make it back, too..."

They fell quiet and continued to look at the map displayed on screen. It wasn't until a full five minutes later, when Ichigo finally had to look away because his eyes started to hurt, that there was a new development.

Out of the blue, no less than five Reiatsu signatures popped up all at once, on the southern edge of the map. The system had trouble keeping up with identifying them all. A new message appeared on-screen: 'Multiple Reiatsu signatures detected. Identifying...'.

Everyone present held their breath as the names started coming in, one after the other.

'Identified: Tessai Tsukabishi, Uryu Ishida, Sado Yasutora...'

"It's them!" Orihime exclaimed, holding her hands up to her face. "Yeah," Ichigo affirmed, nervousness pooling in his stomach. "Which means the other two are..."

'...UNKNOWN SIGNATURE, Katsumi Takahashi.' That last one confirmed Ichigo's fears. He cursed loudly, Yoruichi reacting similarly. At least the other four had a lead on him. He was capable of attacking at long range though, so now they just needed to make it to the portal without getting hit by his attacks...

"Urahara-san, what will we do if he follows them into the Garganta?" Orihime asked urgently. "We'll improvise," came his not-so-reassuring reply. "In fact, call out your fairies now. As soon as everyone's through, block the portal's exit!"

Orihime nodded and ran off. "I'll back her up with Kido!" Yoruichi called out as she joined Orihime in front of the Garganta.

Quickly glancing at the display again, Ichigo saw the first four red dots disappear from the map as soon as they reached their side of the portal. "They made it to the Garganta!" He called out to the two women, who started to prepare their techniques. Ichigo could see Takahashi's marker briefly halting right in front of the portal, most likely held back by the barrier set up around it, but it didn't stop him for very long. "He's coming!"

Three of Orihime's fairies began circling her as she called out each of their names; doing so made her technique stronger than when she simply used it immediately. Yoruichi meanwhile, was quickly rambling off a rather long incantation Ichigo failed to recognize. Whatever it was, it was probably high-level judging from the length.

He jumped up from his seat when four figures come into focus within the Garganta's depths. He was getting goosebumps, but it wasn't caused by the stress. This was due to Reiatsu. Even if he could barely detect it anymore, you probably didn't even need to be spiritually aware to sense this. If the lab hadn't been so far underground, he bet even random people on the street would have been able to notice it.

Urahara's hand shakily hovered over the emergency stop-button. Obviously, he could feel it too. This terrifying, bone-chilling sensation. It felt like the Grim Reaper itself was coming for them.

Four figures burst out of the portal at full speed, one of them screaming 'close it!' at the top of his lungs. Urahara immediately slammed his open palm down on the 'stop' button, at the same time that Orihime and Yoruichi used Santen Kesshun and Bakudo 81: Danku respectively. Two overlapping barriers instantly appeared to block the exit; it would stay open for about three more seconds before collapsing in on itself now that the power had been cut. Ichigo could only stare wide-eyed at what happened next.

 _Three..._ Four bodies landed roughly on the floor in one big heap. A soul-shaking roar emerged from within the black void.

 _Two..._ A massive, bone-white fist slammed into the two overlapping barriers, almost completely shattering Orihime's triangular shield as it made contact and putting some major cracks in Yoruichi's Danku.

 _One..._ The fist was pulled back by a large humanoid Hollow. The mouth of its mask opened, and another terrifying roar resounded throughout the room. Only a purple glow was visible within the mask's eye holes, but Ichigo felt like the man behind said mask was staring right at him. Getting ready to strike again, the monster drew back his fist.

 _Zero_. The low hum of the four towers flanking the machine abruptly stopped and the portal snapped shut just as Takahashi began his second punch, cutting off the Reiatsu instantly.

Ichigo managed to stay upright for all of two seconds, his entire body shaking like a leaf. Then his legs gave out from under him and he fell to his knees. He greedily sucked in air, having not even realized that he had been holding his breath. His shirt was sticking to his skin; it was quickly getting drenched in sweat. He didn't even know it was possible to perspire that much in such a short time.

Urahara finally snapped out of his daze as well, quickly asking Ichigo if he was alright and helping him get back on his feet. It seemed like everyone had been in a stupor after what just happened.

"You... you all made it back," Orihime stammered, staggering over to the people who were just beginning to pick themselves up off the floor. "Thank goodness!" she choked out. She fell to her knees beside the two boys and hugged both of them at the same time. They looked at her, still a bit shaken. Uryu hugged her back a bit awkwardly, while Chad simply smiled. Orihime started crying and laughing at the same time, and it didn't look like she was gonna stop anytime soon.

Ichigo let out a sigh of relief. They had all made it back safely. Aside from some minor scratches here and there, as well as the fact that they were completely exhausted, both Uryu and Chad looked perfectly alright.

Tessai meanwhile, was a bit worse for wear. He had a nasty gash on the side his head, which was still bleeding, as well as some other wounds that Ichigo couldn't see, but had dyed his clothes red in several places. All in all, it could have been a lot worse. Now that he had confirmed his friends' safety, Ichigo finally directed his attention to the mysterious person still lying on the floor. She appeared to be female, judging by her long, greenish-blue hair that reached down to her slim waist. Tessai politely extended a hand to help her up, which she accepted.

Stunned into silence, both Ichigo and Orihime could do little more than stare at her with their jaws nearly on the floor.

The new arrival giggled pleasantly upon seeing the looks on their faces. She smiled happily at them. "It's good to see you again... Itsygo."

* * *

Meanwhile, a rather unusual phenomenon was occurring on the other side of Karakura town. A large traffic jam had formed on one of the town's main roads. The cause of said traffic jam was somewhat difficult to explain.

Right in the middle of the road, about half a meter off the ground, there was this strange shimmering in the air, like those mirages that tend to appear when it's really hot outside. While this normally wouldn't be any cause for alarm, this one was a bit different. Occasionally, a loud thumping sound would emerge from the distortion, as if someone was banging against a wall no-one else could see. Even stranger was the fact that some sort of force would be released from the mirage at the exact same time. This 'force', which behaved a lot like a shockwave, had caused the windows of several passing vehicles to shatter and forced drivers in both lanes to stop their vehicles, completely halting traffic.

People were gathering on the sides of the road, trying to catch a glimpse of what was going on, and reporters from multiple networks were steadily trickling in, eager to broadcast the absurd phenomenon live.

People were chatting excitedly among each other. Most of them had their cells phones out and were taking pictures or making videos of the mirage. Another loud 'thump' accompanied by a shockwave shook the crowd, eliciting some screams and causing the level of excitement to rise.

"Look at that!" An observant bystander screamed. "It's like there's cracks in the air!" This message was eagerly repeated by the people watching, and many even started pushing and shoving in order to get closer to the barricades that had quickly been set up by the officials.

Said officials were currently scratching their heads, having no clue what was going on. All they could really do for the moment was hope that the phenomenon would go away by itself; hopefully sooner rather than later. Some Internet forums that were quick on the uptake had already started posting madly about the event, spawning various topics with sensational titles like _'Black hole in Karakura Town?!'_ and ' _Paranormal activity in Karakura, Japan – live video feed!'._ Don Kanonji's website in particular had gotten a major spike in traffic.

More screams erupted from the crowd as the most powerful shockwave so far knocked some people off their feet. The smarter ones were already beginning to place some distance in between themselves and the mysterious shimmering in the air. The vast majority however had to be ordered to back away by the police, who had finally decided to make themselves useful.

The next one was even more violent, knocking over barricades and even pushing the cars closest to it back a little. This had everyone but the most stubborn members of the audience running away as their excitement gave way to panic.

The cracks that had appeared within the center of the mirage were spreading out, now covering about half the total width of the road. The police had decided to back up as well, not wanting to get hit by another, possibly even more powerful shockwave.

The cracks spread even further as the air itself seemed to be vibrating. You could literally _hear_ it breaking.

The next, and final, shock was by far the worst of them all. Cars were flung around like they were toys and the onlookers that had refused to run away were smashed into buildings, with the more unlucky ones being thrown through store windows. In short, it was all-around chaos. The area looked like a bomb had gone off, which would later become the official explanation once Soul Society started wiping people's memories.

In their panicked state, barely anybody bothered to look back at the epicenter of the blast. It didn't really matter though. Most people wouldn't have seen anything anyway. However, if a spiritually aware person had happened to look at the center of the devastation just then, they would have seen a man there, down on his hands and knees and breathing heavily. The rift the man had created when breaking through the dimensional barrier was rapidly closing again behind him.

Slowly, he got up. Cradling his injured, mostly useless left arm, he started walking, curiously looking at the buildings surrounding him as he went. He saw people dressed in strange clothing running away as if their lives depended on it. It appeared he had unintentionally caused quite a disturbance. He had been more than a little panicked after all, getting trapped in-between dimensions like that, and had used brute force in an attempt to break free. Now he saw the consequences of his less-than-delicate approach to the situation.

Hearing the sound of someone crying nearby, he looked to his left to see a child lying on the ground. Feeling guilty, since it was most likely his fault that the child had been injured, he decided to take a look at what was troubling the young boy.

The child, who couldn't have been more than 11 years old, had his hands wrapped around his right leg. His hands were covered in blood, and more was freely flowing from between his fingers. Seeing a large, bloody shard of glass lying on the ground next to the boy, it didn't take a genius to figure out what had happened. He looked around to try and find the boy's parents, but the street was mostly deserted, save for a few men in blue uniforms in the distance. He guessed them to be this era's police force.

The man knelt at the boy's side, remaining completely undetected by him despite being so close. He gently placed his uninjured hand on top of the boy's. A sharp intake of breath from the child let him know that he had noticed. A green glow briefly appeared, and then the man let go again. He got back up and started walking once more. The child meanwhile, looked at his leg and was surprised to find his injury gone. He wiped the tears from his eyes as his sobs turned to sniffles, looking around in confusion as he tried to find who or what had touched his hand just now, and had made his leg better. Not seeing anything, the boy got off the ground and started running, most likely going straight back home.

Looking behind him, the man smiled. At least that boy was alright now. There were some others that needed medical attention, but they were already being taken care of by what he assumed to be medics. They seemed to have the situation under control, and he didn't feel like attracting any more unnecessary attention, so he decided to let them be.

He looked up, seeing an enormous building made mostly out of glass and steel, reaching up into the sky. The man jumped straight up into the air, climbing higher and higher before eventually landing on the tall building's roof. He walked over to the edge, and looked at the city sprawled out below him.

"This world has changed so much in just a century..." Katsumi muttered quietly to himself. His grey eyes scanned his surroundings. There were so many fascinating things he had never seen before. What grabbed his attention the most were the metal vehicles that seemed to be used for transporting people _._ He knew about automobiles, but these looked nothing like the ones he had been familiar with in life.

He breathed in deeply, enjoying the feeling of the setting sun's rays on his skin. "Looks like I have a lot of catching-up to do..."


	9. Chapter 9

### Chapter 9: Back in action

The underground lab didn't seem quite as spacious now that there were so many people present.

The group had seated themselves in something resembling a circle, with Ichigo, Urahara and Tessai sitting on normal chairs; Yoruichi, Orihime and Chad on one of the lab tables; and Uryu and Nel on a movable metal slab that looked like it was normally used for dissections. There had turned out to be a surprising lack of chairs that _weren't_ bolted to the floor.

"Sounds like you had quite the adventure," Urahara commented after hearing the details of what had occurred in Hueco Mundo, perhaps understating the situation just a teensy bit. The people who had been involved in said adventure all made faces at him. Uryu, still a little woozy from the strong _Hakufuku_ spell he had been hit with, almost fell asleep with his head on Nel's shoulder before snapping back upright.

Any injuries the second 'rescue group' had sustained had already been taken care of by Orihime and Yoruichi while they were talking. Of course, Yoruichi could have healed her own injuries when she was trapped in Hueco Mundo, but using any form of Kido would have risked giving away her position.

"I'm just glad I happened to be the one on watch tonight," Nel said. "If it had been any of the others' turn to keep an eye on that man, I doubt they would have intervened, I'm sorry to say."

It was only to be expected. After being forced to abandon Las Noches due to Takahashi's attack, it was no surprise that the other Arrancar currently hiding out at the tentatively named 'Haven' would not be all that eager to risk their lives for a bunch of people they didn't know, let alone those they recognized as former enemies.

"Out of curiosity, miss Nelliel," Urahara interrupted, "how did you manage to free Tessai from that modified Kurohitsugi? Even he couldn't dispel it, though I assume that was due to his inability to move at the time."

"Oh, that black box you mean? I ate it!" she cheerily replied, not noticing the looks of shock that statement got her. "That Kido you Shinigami use is rather similar to a Cero, though it's a lot harder to break down."

The scientist blinked at her. "Well... that's not what I expected, but whatever works, I suppose," he chuckled, quickly recovering from his surprise.

"I've been wondering though, who is that man exactly?" Nel frowned. Her eyes clouded over with emotion as she thought back to what had happened during the assault on Las Noches. "The way he attacked without warning and killed anyone who got close, like he was some wild animal..."

"Well," Urahara began, bringing Nel back to the present, "we're still in the process of gathering information, so I hope you'll forgive me for giving you the abridged version for now."

He cleared his throat. "The man in question is named Katsumi Takahashi. Up until 112 years ago, he held the position of Squad Three's Captain in the Gotei 13. When Soul Society's government learned that he possessed Hollow powers, they ordered him to be executed. However, much like what we assume happened at Las Noches, his Hollow powers caused him to go berserk when the other Captains attempted to enact his sentence, and it was decided that sealing him away would result in far less collateral damage than continuing to attempt killing him outright."

Nel didn't say anything as she listened to the story. Her expression however clearly showed that she had her doubts about the righteousness of Soul Society's leaders, who had sentenced one of their own to be executed for the sole reason of acquiring the powers of a Hollow. Being a Hollow-Shinigami hybrid herself, she was frankly offended that it was even considered a crime in the first place.

"Obviously," Urahara continued, "he escaped. He somehow managed to break out of a specialized, very high-level sealing array, specifically designed to restrain powerful Shinigami, leading us to believe he had outside help." That caught Ichigo's attention. He shared a look with his friends, who all wore similar expressions of confusion.

"Excuse me," Uryu interrupted the shopkeeper, "but you believe he had an accomplice? Why is this the first time we're hearing about this?"

"Because until we find some proof, it is only conjecture at best," Urahara answered offhandedly. "The physical location of the Seal of Izanagi was extremely well-guarded. I can't imagine anyone getting near it undetected. Even so, unless we are missing some third option, that is what must have happened."

There was a somewhat cold glint in Nel's eyes by the time Urahara finished his explanation. Ichigo had only ever seen her with such a serious expression back when she fought Nnoitra. "Despite whatever hardships he may have gone through, you'll forgive me if I don't feel any sympathy for that monster." She absently rubbed her upper arm, where there was a faded, barely noticeable scar. "Many people died because of him. Even my brothers were nearly among the casualties."

Suddenly Ichigo realized why she had returned to her adult form. He and Orihime shared a regretful look. "It took both myself and lady Harribel to hold him off while the others evacuated Las Noches. There's still some people unaccounted for even now... although it's not that unusual for _him_ to stay away for longer periods..." she trailed off absently.

"Wait," Ichigo cut in, "You're not talking about Grimmjow, are you?" Her astonished, yet very much hopeful expression told him all he needed to know. "He's right upstairs! He got attacked as well, and he was in pretty bad shape, but he managed to make it here before passing out."

Nel let out a breath of relief. "I was so worried about him! To think Grimm-kun was here all along..."

Ichigo almost choked on his own spit when he heard the nickname. Knowing Nel, she probably called him that to his face too... and was strong enough to beat him up in case Grimmjow wasn't happy about it.

"Inoue-san managed to save his life, but we believed it was too risky to simply allow him to leave, considering Jaegerjaquez-san's temperament," Urahara explained. "Frankly, we've been unsure of what to do with him."

Nel's exasperated smile told them she understood his concerns very well. "I'll talk to miss Harribel about this. While Grimm-kun _is_ a little rough around the edges, he's still one of our strongest fighters. It would be a relief to have him with us again, considering the circumstances." Adopting a more serious look, she shifted the conversation back to the more urgent problem: "As for the rogue Soul Reaper, he may not have been in control of himself during the attack on Las Noches, but he seemed perfectly lucid while we fought him earlier. If anything, that makes him even more dangerous. One way or another, he needs to be dealt with."

They went on to discuss a possible, temporary alliance between Urahara's group, the Seireitei and the remaining Arrancar in Haven, as well as many different ways to combat Takahashi, including but not limited to traps, Kido, many different battle tactics as well as gadgets of Urahara's own design that might prove useful in future confrontations.

Almost everyone had something to contribute to the conversation. Even the normally quiet Chad came up with some good, unexpected tactics while Orihime had quite a few outlandish ideas that were so borderline insane that they might have actually had a chance of working. Nel especially seemed supportive of Orihime's strategies. Uryu probably would have liked to add his own two cents, if it weren't for the fact that he was currently slumped against Nel's side and snoring softly.

The only one who had nothing to add was Ichigo. Hearing everyone talk about what they could do to help only served to depress him. He wasn't of any use right now, after all. He looked at the faces of the people sitting around the table. No less than five of them had been in mortal danger and he hadn't been able to do a thing to help. If Nel hadn't shown up when she did, just how many of them would have made it back here?

Ichigo excused himself under the pretense of needing some fresh air, not willing to listen to the rest of the conversation.

"Are you alright, Kurosaki-kun?" Orihime was clearly worried about him, but what he really needed right now was some time alone. He forced himself to slap on a fake smile and act like nothing was wrong. Ichigo doubted she was convinced by his poor acting skills, but frankly couldn't bring himself to care. He swept out of the laboratory and managed to make it all the way up to ground level before he finally snapped.

"Dammit!" he spit out from between clenched teeth, pounding his fist against the wall. He had never imagined that going back to being a regular human could be so frustrating. To think that just a few days ago he'd been checking out colleges online, fully intent on moving on with his life...

"Oi! What the hell's wrong with you?!" Grimmjow's gruff voice sounded through the hallway. Ichigo flinched, quickly looking in the direction of the voice. Grimmjow was leaning out of a door frame further down the hall, looking very annoyed with the noise Ichigo was making. "Get lost, Grimmjow." He scowled at the approaching man. "I'm not in the mood."

Grimmjow lifted his eyebrows at him. "Yeah? Well tough shit, Kurosaki, 'cause I do happen to be in the mood." He leaned his shoulder against the wall and crossed his arms, smirking like the annoying, cocky bastard he was. Ichigo wanted to punch his teeth in. "So, what's got you throwing a bitch fit?" Ichigo sent him one of the nastiest glares in his arsenal, and was annoyed to see it having absolutely no effect on Grimmjow.

"You've been down there for a while now," Grimmjow remarked when Ichigo stayed silent, nodding his head at the door that led down to the lab. "Is that shopkeeper holding a tea party in there or something?"

In spite of himself, Ichigo snorted at Grimmjow's rudeness. "Sort of. They're talking about Takahashi again." Clearly, that had caught his attention. "Yeah? Do they know where he is?" Grimmjow asked with obvious excitement. He didn't even try to hide his eagerness to fight the powerful Vizard again. Bruised ego, Ichigo supposed.

"Actually, he almost managed to break into the lab through the Garganta a little while back, but Urahara shut the portal in his face. That probably wasn't enough to kill him though, so I'm sure he'll return to Hueco Mundo soon enough." Clearly, Grimmjow wasn't satisfied with that answer. He clicked his teeth in annoyance, making Ichigo frown at him. "Do you really want to fight him again that badly?" he asked disbelievingly.

Even if he'd still had his powers, Ichigo sure as hell wouldn't be that eager to go a second round with the man. Not after what happened to him last time. Of course, he still would if the Soul Society or the World of the Living were in danger. He was no coward. It just wouldn't be with the same... enthusiasm that Grimmjow was displaying.

Said Arrancar looked at him like he'd gone mad. "Are you fucking kidding me? Of course I want to fight that asshole again!" Grimmjow pushed off against the wall and started pacing through the hallway. "Do you have any idea how fucking annoying it is being locked up here all day?" He kept walking around restlessly as he complained, looking like a caged animal. "I'd give anything to go out and fight! I'd go to Hueco Mundo right fucking now if I could!"

"At least you _can_ fight." The words had slipped past Ichigo's lips before he could stop himself. Grimmjow stopped pacing. Slowly, he turned to look at Ichigo, looking like he couldn't believe what he had just heard. "Wait. _That's_ what this is about?" Grimmjow said incredulously. He slowly closed in on Ichigo. "You lost your powers, so now you're just gonna sit on your ass and bitch about it?" They stared at each other. "I can't fucking believe this! That's pathetic, Kurosaki!"

Ichigo could feel his face redden. "Who are you calling pathetic, jackass?" he yelled at Grimmjow. "You think I enjoy sitting on the sidelines while my friends put themselves in danger? I hate it! It's driving me insane, but it's not like I can do anything about it!" Ichigo didn't think it was possible for him to get any angrier at this point, but Grimmjow quickly proved him wrong by laughing in his face.

"'Can't do anything about it?' Don't give me that crap. You're just taking the easy way out," he mocked. "If you wanna help your little posse that badly, stop being a whiny bitch and find a way to get your powers back already." Ichigo clenched his jaw. He was five seconds away from grabbing Grimmjow's head and smashing it into a wall. "I already told you," he almost growled, "it's not that sim-"

"WHO CARES?!" Grimmjow suddenly roared, making Ichigo flinch. "If you want your powers back that badly, then FIND A WAY!" He roughly shoved Ichigo, pushing him up against the wall. "Don't give me that 'it's impossible' bullshit," Grimmjow hissed. His eyes were fuming. The concept of personal space obviously wasn't something Grimmjow cared about very much: he was so up in Ichigo's face that if anyone saw them right now, it would probably look like they were making out... albeit in a rather violent manner. "If you say that, it just means you've already given up." Apparently having said what he wanted to say, Grimmjow gave Ichigo another harsh shove and stalked off back to his room.

Gingerly rubbing his chest where Grimmjow had hit him, Ichigo watched him leave. He wanted to run after him, scream at him and beat his face to a bloody pulp, but his anger had reached a level where his brain no longer seemed capable of handling basic motor functions. By the time Ichigo could think somewhat coherently again, Grimmjow was already gone, and he was left alone in the hallway, shaking with rage. What Grimmjow said had certainly hit a nerve. He wanted nothing more than to walk right into that bastard's room and force him to eat those words, but Ichigo knew that would be counterproductive. Instead, he took some deep breaths to calm himself down.

 _'Screw him,'_ Ichigo decided. Grimmjow just wasn't worth it.

He started walking, but in the opposite direction, away from Grimmjow's room. Seeing as he would only be getting in the way if he stayed here, Ichigo decided to go home. The others probably wouldn't even notice he was gone, being too absorbed in their strategy meeting. Heading straight for the front door, he grabbed his bag, put his shoes back on and walked right out. He quickly typed out a text message letting Chad know he was leaving before promptly switching the phone off. What he needed right now was some alone time. He stubbornly refused to look behind him as he went.

Urahara meanwhile, was watching Ichigo's retreating back. The older man sighed wearily. It wasn't hard for him to imagine how Ichigo was feeling right now. He had heard the entire conversation between him and Grimmjow while standing in the stairway. He honestly hadn't meant to eavesdrop, but they had been pretty loud and he didn't want to intrude on them by suddenly walking out into the hallway either.

While Jaegerjaquez-san's words had been harsh, perhaps that was just what Ichigo needed to get out of his rut. But even if Ichigo did decide to look for a way to regain his powers, would he succeed? Most likely not. Urahara had already looked for a way to do it, but had come up with nothing so far. The logical part of his mind said that he should just leave things the way they are, and not take any unnecessary risks just to help out one person.

His heart on the other hand, did not want to leave things as they were. He wanted to help Ichigo. The boy had already done so much, both for him personally and for the rest of the world as well.

"Impossible, huh?" Urahara muttered to himself. "Maybe not..." There was one option that might work. He just never seriously considered using it before now. There were no guarantees of success. In fact, things could go very, very wrong. Not just that, but he would need the approval of Central 46, which in itself would already be nothing less than a miracle...

Urahara blinked, halting his train of thought. Was he seriously thinking about this? The risks far outweighed any potential benefits this course of action might bring them. Logic dictated that he should abandon this plan, and banish these thoughts to the furthest recesses of his mind. Then again, experience had taught him that logic never really applied where Ichigo was involved. Besides, if his initial assumption was correct, there would hardly be any risk at all... he hoped.

Urahara walked back toward the laboratory entrance. After the strategy meeting was finished, he'd need to make some calls.

* * *

Grimmjow's words kept on bothering Ichigo throughout the week. He tried to act like it didn't didn't bother him, but his friends could tell he was acting more withdrawn than usual. Every now and then someone would tentatively ask him what was wrong, but Ichigo would just brush them off and end the conversation right then and there.

Both Chad and Uryu quickly learned not to press the issue, but Orihime proved to be more persistent, and kept trying despite repeated failures. On Wednesday Tatsuki had held him up in the hallway after class, giving him some verbal abuse for making Orihime worry. Even so, he kept on sulking by himself and refused to talk to anyone about the topic.

By Thursday however, Ichigo was forced to admit that perhaps there had been a grain of truth to what Grimmjow had said.

Ichigo had known that he would lose his powers. He had accepted that once it happened, that chapter of his life would be over and done with and he wouldn't get involved with Soul Reapers or Hollows again for what he hoped would be a very long time. Back then, he had been perfectly alright with that. The war was over, so he had believed his friends in Soul Society would have been safe from then on.

But the situation was different now, and lacking the abilities he'd had as a Soul Reaper was proving to be far more of an inconvenience than he had expected it to be. The fact that he had already gone through the entire emotional roller-coaster that accompanied the whole ordeal and had put it all behind him, was now acting as a mental roadblock for Ichigo. He had been fully prepared to settle back into his old, relatively peaceful lifestyle. Which is why it was so damn hard for him to admit that he really wanted to be a Shinigami again.

Over the last few days, Ichigo had gotten a taste of what it was like to sit on the sidelines, and it clearly didn't suit him one bit. He was sick of being useless, of having to wait anxiously for his friends to return from whatever dangerous situation they had gotten themselves into while he was forced to stay behind and do nothing.

He'd been stewing over his internal dilemma for three days, but now, he could say with absolute certainty that he truly wanted, or rather _needed_ to rejoin the fight. He would go mad if he had to stay behind in Urahara's lab again while his friends went out to fight. While Ichigo didn't know how he was going to do it yet, he _would_ be getting his powers back, no ifs, and or buts about it. Ichigo was by nature not someone who let others do the fighting while he sat on his ass.

And as much as he didn't want to admit it, he had Grimmjow to thank for coming to that realization. Still, he was sure he would have gotten his thoughts lined up without that asshole's help too, if given some time. Probably. Grimmjow just sped the process up a little. Ichigo wasn't willing to give him any more credit than that.

Sighing deeply, as he'd been doing rather often lately, he ran a hand through his hair (he could really use a trim) and looked at the clock above the blackboard. Just twenty minutes to go until the final bell rang. He'd be making a short detour before he went home tonight.

* * *

Urahara was absently scratching the stubble on his chin, still looking a little caught off guard. His reaction was understandable, given that Ichigo had shown up at his doorstep completely out of the blue and asked, rather bluntly, for a way to regain his powers. The teen had never been the type to mince words, but still; _some_ tact was expected with matters like these.

They were in the small communal room again, which Urahara often utilized when he had guests. Ichigo was impatiently tapping his fingers against his teacup as the silence dragged on. Urahara hadn't said anything for a long time after Ichigo had finished explaining his motivation for returning to the life of a Shinigami.

"You're absolutely certain?" he finally said, after what felt like an eternity of waiting.

"I'm sick of being useless," Ichigo replied without missing a beat. "I want to fight."

Urahara nodded somewhat absently. Then, he smiled, so briefly that Ichigo could have sworn he had imagined it. "I will admit, I have already given the matter some thought. You're not the type to sit on the sidelines, Kurosaki-san," he grinned. Ichigo didn't do a very good job of hiding his surprise. Not only had Urahara accepted his change of heart almost right away, he'd even been looking for solutions by himself already!

The man's expression quickly turned serious again. "There is... there is one way that has a _fairly_ high chance of success..." he began cautiously, seemingly unsure of whether he should even be telling him this in the first place.

Ichigo eagerly leaned forward, spurring Urahara on. "But it's dangerous. The stakes are very high. Too high, even."

"Well, are there any other options?" Ichigo interrupted him. Urahara's silence told him enough. "Then I'll do it. I don't care what the risks are, I'll-"

"No."

The unusually harsh tone Urahara had addressed him with was enough to make Ichigo flinch. "You're being too reckless, Ichigo. There are many people who would be very upset if they knew how just little concern you have for your own well-being." Ichigo looked away, feeling the weight of his mentor's gaze. They say disappointment hurts more than anger, but a combination of the two certainly did a bang up job of making him feel like crap.

Urahara wasn't done yet, though: "Also, you would not be the only one in danger if the situation took a turn for the worse. Many lives could potentially be lost." Believing it was safe to make eye contact again, Ichigo asked: "Just what is this idea of yours to get my powers back? You've gotten me and my friends involved in plenty of dangerous schemes where people could have gotten killed. How is this time any different?"

Urahara shook his head. "Please, just... forget what I said, Kurosaki-san. I shouldn't have brought it up in the first place." Seeing that Ichigo wanted to protest, he raised his hand to bid for silence. "Even if we choose to ignore the massive risks, this path simply isn't open to us at this point in time. Maybe in the future it will be, but I honestly hope it never comes to that."

Ichigo had no idea what Urahara was talking about, but he could sense that this particular subject was closed and he wasn't planning on forcing the issue. If there was even the slightest chance of innocent people being hurt, Ichigo felt it was far too irresponsible to try and pursue this path.

"I'll look for another way, Kurosaki-san. I know there has to be something I can do. Until then, I recommend you ask Ishida-san to help you with some basic Reishi-controlling exercises. As a Quincy, he has excellent control over the flow of Spirit Particles. That alone could already help you regain some of your Spirit Power."

"Alright." While Ichigo wasn't exactly looking forward to asking for Uryu's help, he would just have to swallow his pride this time. Getting strong enough to rejoin the fight was far more important than that.

"Well then," Urahara said, preparing to stand up, "I still have much to do, so-"

"KISUKE!" Yoruichi's voice reverberated throughout the house. "Uh-oh," was all Urahara said as the sound of Yoruichi's footsteps got louder and louder as she closed in on them. She burst into the room and went straight for Urahara, not even noticing Ichigo.

"So this is where you've been hiding!" She pointed her finger at Urahara accusingly. The poor man had just managed to get back to his feet, but Yoruichi promptly pushed him right back on his ass. "I'm sick of your excuses, Kisuke! Open the damn portal right now!"

"But Yoruichiii," he complained childishly while rubbing his pained backside, "It's too dangerous for you to go to Hueco Mundo by yourself again!"

"Then it's a good thing I won't be going alone, isn't it?" she bit back. "Nelliel will be joining me," she elaborated rather haughtily, crossing her arms. The pair continued to argue loudly, either not realizing or simply not caring that Ichigo was there.

"Dammit, Kisuke! I know he's hiding something, and I want to know what it is! Uryu said so too; thanks to him I even have a good idea of where to look!"

"Stop trying to change my mind, Yoruichi. It won't work," Urahara stubbornly maintained. "Besides, miss Nelliel said so herself," he pressed on when he saw Yoruichi about to yell at him again. "If she expends too much energy, she risks reverting to her child-form. She's not suited for combat right now."

"There's not going to be any combat, because he's not going to catch us!" Yoruichi snapped back at him, but it was clear Urahara wasn't about to be convinced by any of her arguments. "Pull your head out of your ass and stop be so goddamn stubborn, Kisuke!" she screamed in frustration.

Ichigo cringed. It was the first time he'd seen Urahara and Yoruichi disagreeing with each other to the point where they actually started yelling. It reminded Ichigo of the very few times he'd witnessed his parents fighting when he was little. Even so, from the scraps of information he'd heard so far in between the yelling and name-calling, he managed to get a general idea of what the problem was here:

Takahashi had hidden something in Hueco Mundo. During the rescue mission, Uryu had apparently gotten quite close to whatever it was and told Yoruichi of its location, which meant that they already knew where to look. They had also gotten an idea of what traps he used and how to evade them, which meant that the only thing they still lacked was some decent firepower in the unlikely case it came to blows.

In other words: they needed someone who was both fast and able to remain undetected, but could also pack a punch in a direct confrontation. It just so happened that Ichigo knew someone who fit that description to the letter, and would be all too eager to participate in a mission involving Takahashi. The only problem here was that there was no guarantee he wouldn't turn against them, but he was sure Urahara would be able to remedy that.

"Oi, guys!" he called out, temporarily making them halt their verbal shit-flinging. "I think I may know someone who could back you up, Yoruichi." Neither of them noticed the tiny smirk that was starting to form on Ichigo's face.

* * *

Just as Ichigo had expected, getting Grimmjow to agree hadn't been the least bit difficult, much to the surprise of Urahara and Yoruichi. There had been the issue of Grimmjow potentially backstabbing them during the mission, but thanks to Urahara's newest gadget, that risk had already been minimized.

"There, that should do it," the resident mad scientist piped up, taking a few steps away from Grimmjow to admire his handiwork from a distance. Admittedly, an explosive collar was a rather crude form of insurance, but it would just have to do for now. "You're good to go, Jaegerjaquez-san." Urahara removed the Reiryoku-draining shackles and placed them on a stool, with Grimmjow's discarded Gigai sitting down on the floor next to it. The second those handcuffs stopped making contact with Grimmjow's skin, the weight of his Reiatsu immediately crashed into Ichigo, giving him a short bout of vertigo. Without his own Reiatsu to act as a buffer, Ichigo had something of a hard time resisting the power Grimmjow was subconsciously emitting. It was almost as frustrating as it was embarrassing.

Now that his hands were free, Grimmjow carefully prodded the thick black collar around his neck. Clearly, he was none too happy with it. He glared at Urahara, who cheerily grinned back at him, but refrained from complaining about it. It was just something he was going to have put up with in exchange for getting involved in the action. Compared to slowly going mad while locked up in his room, he figured this was a small price to pay.

"I've just contacted Nelliel," Yoruichi announced as she walked up to the three men. "She said she'll meet up with us near the Southernmost point of Las Noches' outer wall."

"Alright. Then I'll run the final system checks and you'll be good to go." Urahara sat down behind his console and began typing in commands. He'd been spending a lot of time at that computer lately. "In the meantime Kurosaki-san, could you hand Jaegerjaquez-san his Zanpakuto? He's probably going to need it."

Ichigo didn't even have to look to know that he had just become the focus of Grimmjow's attention. He could almost literally feel the other man's eager gaze burning holes into his back as he moved to open the heavy, reinforced box Urahara had set on the table behind him. It was clear Urahara had been very careful with Grimmjow's sword; it was even wrapped in cloth to prevent any scratches from getting on it. Ichigo carefully took the blade out of the chest and brought it over to Grimmjow, who was clearly doing his best not to jump Ichigo and rip it right out of his hands.

As soon as Ichigo was within reach, Grimmjow snatched the sword away from him before he even had time to blink. He ripped off the cloth and carelessly tossed it to the floor, meticulously inspecting every square inch of his Zanpakuto, as if he was sure Urahara had done something to it.

Ichigo didn't blame him one bit.

"Well then, ready to go, Jaegerjaquez-san?" Urahara interrupted him, apparently finished with the preparations. Behind him, the enormous device was already busy tearing a hole in space to open a passageway to Hueco Mundo. Honestly, Ichigo thought it was somewhat pointless to use the device when Grimmjow could have accomplished the same result just by snapping his fingers. In fact, Ichigo wasn't entirely sure why Urahara had even bothered to build the thing in the first place when he was perfectly capable of opening a Garganta himself. He made a mental note to ask about it sometime.

Grimmjow took one last look at Pantera and, finding nothing out of the ordinary with it, slid the blade back into its scabbard. He gave Urahara a curt nod to show that he was ready, and walked over to the stabilizing Garganta. Yoruichi quickly joined him, playfully smiling at Grimmjow, but she was ignored completely.

Ichigo walked up behind them, feeling more than a little discomforted about not being able to join them. "Good luck," he said hesitantly. While he had meant to address both of them, only Yoruichi responded by turning around and giving a thumbs-up, while Grimmjow, unsurprisingly, didn't seem to care.

With a final, decisive tap, Urahara finished inputting the required commands. "All done on my end. Now let's get this show on the road, shall we?"

* * *

Grimmjow inhaled deeply, taking in the familiar scent. While he felt no real attachment to this empty desert, it was still technically his home and he was far more familiar with this environment than he was with the chaotic World of the Living. The high concentration of Reishi in the air also did him a lot of good.

The portal had taken them to an area that was approximately two kilometers away from where they would rendezvous with Nel. While this was somewhat inconvenient, opening it any closer than that would no doubt give away their location to the enemy. The trip from here to Las Noches would also give them a chance to look around and see if anything was out of the ordinary.

"You must be happy to be back," his companion asked casually. He noticed that in spite of how aloof she acted, she was actually being pretty vigilant, and was already scanning their surroundings for the slightest hint of danger.

"Not particularly," Grimmjow grunted offhandedly, hoping that she would just keep her trap shut for the rest of the mission. He hated the talkative types, especially when any physical abuse on his part would leave him without a head on his shoulders thanks to the collar they had put on him. And he personally preferred it firmly attached, thank you very much.

Yoruichi frowned somewhat. "Not much of a conversationalist, are you?" Grimmjow didn't even bother to answer this time, and Yoruichi clearly hadn't expected him to. Without another word, she took of in the direction of the abandoned fortress, with Grimmjow being forced to follow. He wasn't giving that shopkeeper any excuses to flip the switch that would make his head go 'pop'.

Even so, annoyed as he was with the collar around his neck, it felt pretty damn good to be out in the field again. And while he disliked the woman, he had to admit she was skilled. She was barely putting in any effort, and he was already straining to keep up with her. It was clear she was an expert at Stealth operations too: the vast open desert didn't leave them much spaces to hide, so they were for the most part completely exposed, but she made damn good use of the cover they did come across.

They would stop every now and then to scan the area for any traps that could impede their progress, and start moving again immediately after confirming it was safe. Another thing that had impressed Grimmjow was how she would seemingly pick out the best routes purely by instinct: choosing routes that would be both easy for them to navigate, and provide them with natural protection in the form of dunes or trenches in the sand.

But no matter how good she was, Grimmjow had the home field advantage here. While Yoruichi took the lead for the most part, she knew well enough to listen to Grimmjow's advice when he signaled her to take a different route. The desert hid many dangers that only someone completely familiar with it knew how to evade. All in all, despite the lack of verbal communication, they made a surprisingly good team.

As such they reached the rendezvous point near Las Noches much quicker than anticipated, all the while being relatively certain that they hadn't been detected yet. On the other hand, they hadn't managed to spot Takahashi either, so they had no idea what he was up to at the moment.

"You got here sooner than I thought you would." Grimmjow reflexively reached for Pantera when he heard the voice, thinking it was an enemy, but was quickly proven wrong. Nelliel's head suddenly popped out of the ground in front of them, soon followed by the rest of her body as she emerged from an underground tunnel. To his shame, Grimmjow had never even known of the existence of said tunnel, despite having lived in the fortress for quite a while.

"It seems you found a good hiding place," Yoruichi said approvingly as they politely shook hands in greeting. Nelliel eagerly nodded in agreement. "There's many underground passageways like this one. Not just under Las Noches either, some of them go on for miles further into the desert. They're really useful for smuggling supplies to our encampment."

Grimmjow had stalked off to the side somewhat, hoping that Nelliel would just leave him alone, but that was clearly too much to hope for. "And Grimm-kun! I'm really happy to see you're alright." He refused to look at her. If he did, he didn't think he would be able to hold back the murderous rage that had welled up the second that godawful nickname had come out of her mouth. Fortunately for him and Nelliel both, Yoruichi had realized what was going through Grimmjow's head and warningly placed a hand on his shoulder. "Play nice, now."

Literally bristling with annoyance, Grimmjow stopped reaching for his sword and turned in Nelliel's direction. He still refused to look directly at her, though. "Hey," he finally grunted, and that was about all they would be getting out of him for the rest of their time together.

It seemed to be good enough for Yoruichi. She let go of him and started speaking again: "Alright, the plan's simple: if we see him, we hide. If he sees us, we run for the portal and don't look back. Any questions? No? Then let's go."

Once again, they took off at a high speed. When it came to using Sonido, Nel seemed to be on par with Grimmjow, though he was rather pleased to see that he might have had the edge in endurance: Yoruichi didn't slow down in the least as they curved around Las Noches' massive dome, and fatigue got to her much quicker than it did for himself and Yoruichi. Ever since Nnoitra had cracked her head open, the amount of energy she could store in her body had decreased dramatically. He hadn't even been Espada-rank yet when that had happened, but he remembered just how strong Nelliel Tu Odelschwank had been back in the day.

They eventually slowed down once they got closer to their destination. He could already see the giant 'Zen-garden' the shopkeeper had briefed him on in the distance. He was familiar with the area, but had never taken the time to inspect it more closely. From this point onward, they would most likely be dealing with Takahashi's traps. Even though the man himself was nowhere to be seen so far.

"It looks like the coast is clear, but you never know with that guy," Yoruichi whispered. "He could be hiding just about anywhere. Do either of you see anything?"

Nel closed her eyes as she concentrated on the Reiatsu in the air around them. "He's definitely been here not too long ago," she said. "But I'm quite certain he's nowhere near at the moment."

"Same here," Grimmjow spoke up. "Can't see him, smell him, or sense his Reiatsu, apart from some residual energy. Don't hear anything out of the ordinary either. He's not here, though I doubt he went very far." Even if he had somehow managed to hide himself so well even a skilled tracker like Grimmjow couldn't find him, they were in a relatively open area. The crystal trees didn't make the best hiding spots, and sufficiently large rocks were far and few between. If he was hiding, they'd spot him the second he made a move.

"It would certainly make things easier on us if he's not home. We'll move in closer, but at a slower pace this time. Remember, there will most likely be traps, and you won't be able to spot them easily. Be careful." Yoruichi started running again, but she didn't dare use Shunpo anymore. That was simply too risky at this point.

While the mission was going well, Grimmjow was seriously disappointed. He'd actually been hoping to run into the bastard again. While victory may admittedly be a bit too much to hope for, he should at least be able to get a few solid hits in now that he was somewhat prepared for a confrontation.

Well, that's what he told himself, at least.

As Yoruichi had predicted, they came across plenty of traps as they zeroed in on their goal. The cloaked Kido webs had been expected, but the Kido minefields? Now those could have been dangerous had Yoruichi not detected them in time. The webs were annoying simply because there were so goddamn many of them, but at least Grimmjow could spot those and alter his route in time.

With the mines on the other hand, he had no way to tell where they were. He just wasn't good enough at detecting and differentiating the many Reiatsu sources. Even using Pesquisa proved fruitless. Nelliel was having slightly more luck than him in that department (to his unending frustration) but Yoruichi was the only one who could make truly reliable predictions of their locations. She saved his ass more than once by warning him in the nick of time that he was mere inches removed from setting off one of the infernal things.

The worst part was that they couldn't risk blowing them up prematurely either, since that would most likely alert Takahashi and let him know where they were. Grimmjow was a little surprised that the enemy would use such a method to defend his territory. While they were fighting, he certainly hadn't gotten the impression that he was a rational person who planned ahead. Yet from what he'd found out about him in the last few days, the guy was apparently some sort of freaking wizard that used mostly Soul Reaper magic to fight. Appearances could be deceiving, he supposed.

He was snapped out of his reveries when Yoruichi gave them the signal to stop moving. "It should be around here," she said, a hint of uncertainty in her voice. Grimmjow could guess what had her feeling uneasy: getting here had been far too easy. They were smack dab in the middle of the area they were supposed to scout, and yet Takahashi was nowhere to be found. There was simply no way he would leave this place so defenseless if it was indeed as important as Yoruichi and the shopkeeper seemed to believe. It was true that all these traps would keep out _most_ unwanted visitors, but they were clearly lacking in the case of an intruder who specialized in stealth. What's more, he should have already known that Yoruichi might have been coming. All this added up to 'danger' in Grimmjow's mind.

"Yoruichi-san," Nelliel spoke up. She'd wandered off in another direction when they arrived, apparently having found something. "What is it?" The other two members of the party went to join her, expertly evading another mine they came across as they walked.

"There's something here. I can't get through." To demonstrate, she picked up a handful of sand and threw it at the seemingly empty space in front of her. Instead of simply falling to the ground, the sand made contact with something solid and slid down its surface, revealing something that was rather large and spherical in shape.

"It's a cloaking field!" Yoruichi exclaimed. "I've never even seen one this big. This has to be it!"

They all stared at where the barrier was. For a while, nobody said anything.

"You uh... You don't think he's in there... do you?" Grimmjow asked cautiously, still closely monitoring the area in front.

"I really, really hope not," Yoruichi replied, not very reassuringly.

"So how about we just shoot first and ask questions later then, because standing here like a bunch of pussies isn't going to do us much good," Grimmjow stated matter-of-factly.

Yoruichi frowned, clearly not liking the idea, but surprisingly enough Nel backed him up on this one. "I agree with Grimm-kun, Yoruichi-san. We've already made it this far, and in a worst-case scenario it's still three-to-one. At the very least, we should be able to escape if he does show up. He's powerful, but all three of us are faster than he is."

The only reason Grimmjow hadn't violently murdered her yet for using that bloody annoying nickname again was that he might get to blow something up thanks to her input. While murder would definitely be much more gratifying than just blowing up the barrier, it would also result in his head being torn from his body by means of a violent explosion. It was probably for the best if he held off on killing her, at least until he got rid of the collar.

"You do have a point," Yoruichi finally admitted to Grimmjow's elation. She sighed, accepting that this was really the only thing they could do aside from giving up, and held out her arm toward the invisible dome. "Let's do this, then." Blue flames appeared in her open palm.

Grimmjow couldn't help but grin ferociously as he mirrored her gesture and gathered up energy for a Cero blast. Nelliel followed suit, the only difference being that she fired her own, violet Cero from her mouth instead of her palm. The three of them unleashed their attacks at the same time; two powerful Cero combined with the blue, fiery explosion caused by Yoruichi's Soren Sokatsui were more than enough to rip the barrier to shreds. Space seemed to warp as the illusion disappeared, revealing what had been inside of the dome.

"There's... Nothing inside," Yoruichi said disbelievingly. "I'll admit it is rather anticlimactic," Nelliel added. Grimmjow summed the situation up most accurately, though: "Well, this bites."

Not ready to give up just yet, Yoruichi jogged over to where the dome had been, searching for anything else that may have been cloaked. She was quickly forced to admit that there really wasn't anything there. "Yoruichi-san. We should move," Nelliel urged. "After that explosion, he has to know that we're here now... This whole thing may have been a trap from the very beginning."

She shook her head. "No. He wouldn't go through all this trouble just to lure us here. I think he was hiding something in that dome. We just waited too long to come here. He must have already moved it."

"How the fuck does any of that matter right now?" Grimmjow rudely interrupted their conversation. "I don't know about you two, but I'd rather not get caught in an ambush."

"He's right, Yoruichi-san. We have to go now." She looked around nervously, obviously expecting something to happen. "There's no point in taking the long way back to the portal. I'll open a Garganta from here and-" They didn't find out what else Nelliel was going to do, because at that very moment, something rather large fell from the sky and landed right in front of her feet, instinctively making her leap backwards.

"'Tall, beautiful young woman, green hair, cracked mask with horns'... You must be Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck. You wouldn't happen to know that guy, would you?" Takahashi serenely sauntered over to them, looking like a total savage. The top of his Shinigami uniform was simply gone, his Hakama were in tatters, he was barefoot and his hair was so greasy and messy it looked like he had a bird's nest on his head. The fact that he had partially-dried blood splattered all over him didn't do his image any good either.

Grimmjow looked at what Takahashi had thrown toward them. Upon closer inspection, it wasn't so much of a 'what' as a 'who'. The poor bastard wasn't looking too healthy.

"I found him wandering around Las Noches, looking for supplies. He told me lots of interesting things." Takahashi slowly came closer. His calm demeanor was in stark contrast to his current appearance. To be fair though, anyone who wasn't a Hollow would probably look like that after spending half a week in the wilderness of Hueco Mundo. Even Grimmjow hadn't looked too respectable after wandering around the desert by himself for a few days.

"Though he wasn't very talkative at first," Takahashi went on. "I had to spur him on a little."

Nelliel dropped to her knees beside the injured male Arrancar and gently helped him sit up. Grimmjow didn't recognize him, but that didn't mean much. Apart from his Fraccion, he never cared about any of the other Arrancar in the slightest. "I'm so sorry, Nelliel-sama," the injured Arrancar sputtered. "I... I told him about the encampment. And about you and miss Harribel." He took some shallow breaths. "The pain was... was simply too much."

"It's alright. Don't try to talk too much." Nelliel quickly looked him over. He had multiple lacerations all over his body, a broken arm, and burn marks on his chest from what Grimmjow could see. Painful, but not deadly. He would be alright after getting proper treatment.

She turned to Takahashi, sending him a glare so nasty even Grimmjow was involuntarily shocked. "Why did you do this?"

"Because I needed information. I've been out of the loop for 112 years, you know." Say whatever you will about him, Takahashi was pretty straightforward at least. He stopped moving once there was only ten meters of sand separating him from Nelliel and the rest of the group. "According to what he told me, I missed out on quite a bit. Aizen taking command of the Hollows and trying to take over the world was pretty unexpected. Even more surprising was the fact that he almost succeeded. And while my informant wasn't entirely sure about this last piece of gossip, he said it was Ichigo Kurosaki who was finally able to stop him. It's a good thing I neutralized him when I had the chance."

"You bastard!" It was the first thing Yoruichi had said since Takahashi appeared. "Haven't you done enough damage already?! And for what, petty revenge? I never imagined you'd sink so low, Katsumi," she sneered at him. Now Grimmjow was far from an expert on this sort of thing, but it sure looked to him like there was a history there.

"Don't tell me you're getting upset over what I did to that Hollow," he scoffed. "I even kept my word and didn't kill him after I got the info I needed. Last time I checked, you were still a Shinigami. They're our natural enemies, remember? Speaking of which," he looked straight into Grimmjow's eyes, and Grimmjow involuntarily took a step back before he could stop himself. "I'm not sure I approve of the company you're keeping."

"Times have changed, Katsumi," she countered. "As I'm sure you've already noticed." Takahashi smiled at her thinly-veiled jab at him, but he kept staring at Grimmjow, and it was seriously starting to freak him out. Part of him just wanted to let loose and tear into that fucker, but another, more rational part told him he'd be facing certain death if he did. That first part was rapidly beating out the second though.

"We've already met, haven't we?" he finally addressed Grimmjow directly. To his own satisfaction, he didn't so much as flinch this time. "We sure did." Surprising even himself, Grimmjow sent the other man a bloodthirsty smirk. Any fear or hesitation he'd had earlier on was suddenly being replaced by the intense desire to tear the man in front of him into tiny, bloody pieces. "Not that long ago, actually. Having trouble remembering? 'Cause I'd be more than willing to jog your memory."

Takahashi seemed amused by his sudden shift in demeanor. "I'll admit, my memory is a bit fuzzy when it comes to the first few days I was in Hueco Mundo. It seems I went a little overboard back then. Congratulations on surviving, by the way."

Grimmjow cackled madly. "You son of a bitch," he chuckled, unsheathing Pantera as he closed the distance between the two of them. "I'm going to enjoy-" A blur suddenly passed him by and slammed into Takahashi, knocking him off his feet. "Get out of here!" Yoruichi screamed at her two allies. A white energy enveloped her entire body as she moved at speeds Grimmjow hadn't thought possible.

Nelliel suddenly grabbed his arm from behind, making him jerk back. "Grimm, we have to go!" she was carrying the injured Arrancar on her back, a Garganta already waiting behind her. When Grimmjow failed to respond, she pulled on his arm with what seemed like far too much strength for a woman of her slim posture.

"Let go, woman! I'm not running away again!" He forcibly pulled his arm free, intent on joining the fight. Takahashi had put on his Hollow Mask and was currently firing one Cero after the other at Yoruichi, accompanied by fireballs, massive golden chains that tried to ensnare her and god knows what else, but none of it was hitting her. She was just way too fast for him.

" **Was smashing my face in not enough for you, Yoruichi?!"** Takahashi screamed at her in between Kido incantations. If he still cared about Grimmjow and Nelliel being there, he sure wasn't showing it.

No way in Hell was Grimmjow just going to run with his tail between his legs. And he definitely wasn't letting some stupid woman he didn't even like put herself in danger for his benefit. He was already indebted to far too many people as it was. "Grimmjow, what are you doing?! Yoruichi-san can make it back to the other Garganta by herself! We would just get in her way!"

"Like I care!" Grimmjow screamed back at her. He put the razor sharp edge of his Zanpakutou against his palm and pulled the blade back, producing a sizable cut. A stream of blood quickly welled up from the wound and started dripping onto the sand. He held out his bleeding palm, aiming for Takahashi as he prepared another Cero. "Shihoin! Get away!" he screamed at the top of his lungs as the Cero in his hand turned electric blue and its power became too great to hold back. He just hoped she'd heard him; the shopkeeper probably wouldn't be too happy with him if he happened to hit the woman with a Gran Rey Cero.

Not being able to suppress the energy any longer, Grimmjow let it all go in one giant, cataclysmic blast that wiped away everything in its path. Ideally, that would include Takahashi, but he couldn't tell yet with the beam itself obscuring his vision.

Unable to aim properly with one hand, he planted Pantera in the sand and used his left hand to grab his wrist and steady the humongous death ray somewhat.

"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND!?" an obviously very pissed off Yoruichi screamed into his ear. Seeing how angry she was only served to amuse him, really. Plus, since Yoruichi was standing behind him now and was thus out of the danger zone, he really had no reason to hold back anymore, did he? Grinning like an utter psychopath, he pumped all the Spirit Power he had into the Gran Rey Cero, making the beam even wider than it already was. In exchange for using that much power, his accuracy and control were greatly reduced of course, but who really cared? He sure didn't.

The beam swayed erratically from left to right now that Grimmjow couldn't fully control it anymore. Anything it hit, be it crystal tree or solid rock, was instantaneously reduced to dust. After completely decimating the landscape and most likely attracting the attention of every Hollow in Hueco Mundo with the laser light show Grimmjow was providing, the beam finally lost power. Grimmjow fell to one knee, chuckling as he saw the devastation he had wrought.

At first, he didn't see Takahashi anywhere. Then, he noticed the massive trench in the sand that started in about the same place the man had been standing earlier, and kept going for easily a hundred meters. At the end of said trench, off into the distance, he could make out four separate, white shield-like objects partially buried in the sand.

The first crumbled into dust as he watched, revealing the second and third shields to each have a massive hole in the center, leaving only the fourth and last one in somewhat decent condition.

"Damn," Yoruichi said, her tone of voice holding the middle between 'impressed' and 'disappointed'. "You should have kept it up a little longer." The meaning behind her words quickly became clear: the three remaining shields all dislodged themselves from the sand and floated upward, revealing-

"Son of a bitch," Grimmjow breathed out. With some effort, Takahashi slowly climbed out of the trench he'd made while being pushed back by Grimmjow's attack. Grimmjow was rather satisfied to see him stumble and almost trip over something as he got to his feet. He did not look happy.

Nelliel cleared her throat, making him and Yoruichi look at her. "I believe it would be a good idea to leave right now," she said rather calmly. She honestly seemed far too composed considering what had just happened.

"Yeah," Yoruichi agreed. "We should do that." She took hold of Grimmjow's upper arm and pulled him along as she hurried into the Garganta. Grimmjow didn't even bother to resist, being far too exhausted after the stunt he just pulled. He let her drag him into the portal, making sure to send Takahashi one last shit-eating grin before the rift sealed shut.


	10. Chapter 10

### Chapter 10: Final Preparations

"What do you think of Jaegerjaquez-san, Ichigo?"

Ichigo looked up from his schoolwork, startled by the sudden question. "Well... to be honest, I'm not sure what to think." Deciding he had done enough studying for today, Ichigo flipped the textbook shut. It wasn't like he was able to concentrate under these circumstances anyway. In fact, these last few days in which one disaster had quickly followed after another had done little good for his state of mind. Ichigo was under so much stress he'd forgotten to turn in over half of his homework assignments.

Miss Ochi was not pleased.

"I mean, he has a really short fuse and he's incredibly rude to boot, but it's a big step up from what he was like during the war." He abandoned the table he'd been working at in favor of joining Urahara at his monitors. That way he would at least have a general idea of what was going on on Yoruichi's side.

One of the monitors displayed a map of Hueco Mundo that was centered around three differently colored dots. From what he could see, Yoruichi's group was getting pretty close to their target, meaning that Grimmjow, Yoruichi and Nel were most likely working their way through Takahashi's defenses at the moment.

Almost lazily, Urahara tapped some keys, activating more scanners over in Hueco Mundo. "Really?" Urahara shot Ichigo a disbelieving look. "You're saying this is an _improvement_? But what I meant to ask is whether or not you believe he's dangerous. For instance: if he had the opportunity, do you think he would try to harm you?"

Ichigo considered it. He was somewhat surprised to realize that, aside from making some threats, Grimmjow hadn't so much as lifted a finger at him ever since his arrival in the World of the Living. Of course, Ichigo knew perfectly well that not having access to any of his abilities while being closely watched by Urahara undoubtedly played an important role in keeping him docile.

Even so, Ichigo didn't believe that Grimmjow would try to attack, even if he believed he could get away with it.

For one: Grimmjow wouldn't get any enjoyment out of finishing him off while he was defenseless. If he knew the Arrancar at all, then Grimmjow would want to beat him in a fair fight, with both of them going all-out.

Then there was Grimmjow's accidental outburst back when he had visited Ichigo at home: he'd said that he hadn't been able to forget about the time Ichigo had saved his life. The memory of that event had also been the deciding factor in making Grimmjow come to Ichigo of all people when he was mortally wounded. Did that mean Grimmjow no longer saw him as an enemy? Did Grimmjow, dare he even think it, consider Ichigo to be his friend?

Ichigo barely managed to hold back laughter. The very notion of Grimmjow feeling even the slightest hint of affection for another human being (living or dead) was completely absurd; it was like trying to imagine Ishida without a stick up his ass.

And even if by some strange twist of fate Grimmjow did decide that he wanted a friend, Ichigo suspected he probably wouldn't be Grimmjow's first choice. He was sure that the man resented him, no matter how well Grimmjow was currently behaving. Ichigo had saved his life; not just once, but twice now, and that was something Grimmjow would never forgive him for.

Not only had Ichigo soundly defeated him back during the war, he had also shown him mercy. As if that by itself wasn't bad enough, Ichigo had then proceeded to put his own life on the line to protect him, from his own supposed ally no less. Ichigo couldn't have done a more shameful thing (from Grimmjow's perspective) if he'd tried. Even worse, it meant that Grimmjow owed him.

He certainly wasn't about to thank Ichigo for what he'd done back then, but his sense of honor probably wouldn't let him harm Ichigo either. At least, not until he considered the debt to be paid.

"Kurosaki-san?" Urahara hesitantly spoke up, reminding Ichigo that he was still waiting for an answer.

"No," Ichigo finally said. "He wouldn't try to hurt me, I think. Not unless I provoked him somehow."

Urahara was quiet for a little while. "Do you think of him as a friend?" he asked softly.

"I really don't know what he is to me right now. I'm pretty sure he doesn't think of me as one, at least."

"I see." Urahara didn't say any more, and focused his attention on the screen in front of him again.

Ichigo felt somewhat awkward just sitting there in silence though. He let his eyes wander, taking in all of the strange machinery that the lab contained. Urahara had some basic laboratory equipment down here; stuff like microscopes and Erlenmeyer flasks that any scientist worth his salt should have. On the other hand, Ichigo spotted a jar of clear yellow liquid with eyeballs floating around in it tucked away in between bottles of formaldehyde, and a machine that looked like it came right out of an eighties horror movie not too far from where he was sitting. He didn't even want to begin to imagine what all those drills and needles could possibly be used for.

Impressive and disturbing as all that was though, the thing that spoke to Ichigo's imagination the most had to be the giant, Garganta-creating apparatus that took up an entire length of wall. Ichigo suspected it did far more than just open Gargantas though; after all, Urahara was perfectly capable of opening one without the need for any machinery. Now was as good a time as any to ask for more details, Ichigo figured.

"I've been wondering for a while now, but what does that thing do exactly, aside from the obvious?"

"Ah, so you _were_ curious!" Urahara grinned. By the time Ichigo realized what he was in for, Urahara had already settled back into his crazy shopkeeper routine. "I was starting to fear that my inventions were beginning to lose their allure to you kids." Like a child who had just been given a chance to show off his favorite new toy, Urahara wasted no time in chatting Ichigo up: "Its main function at the most basic level is to open a portal to other dimensions. So far I've only used it to open Garganta to Hueco Mundo, but it can do far more than that. In fact, calling these portals 'Garganta' isn't entirely correct; they're something far more basic than that. If I were to run some more tests, this baby would be able to open gateways into Hell itself!"

Seeing the expression Ichigo made after hearing that latest bit of info quickly had Urahara backpedaling. "I won't, of course," he hastily assured Ichigo. "As a scientist, I'd like nothing more than to experiment to my heart's content, but I won't take major risks like that when the situation doesn't warrant it. The last time I got carried away led to the creation of the Hogyoku and we all know how that ended up..." he shook his head sadly. "No, I know where to draw the line now."

"Anyway," he continued, "There's quite a few advantages to using this machine instead of opening a portal manually. You probably remember how you and the captains were trapped in Hueco Mundo when Aizen forcefully closed all the Garganta, right?" Ichigo nodded. "That won't happen again, not when we're using this baby!" he bragged happily. He sounded like a car dealer trying to make a sale. "Plus, you can be so much more precise location-wise; the maximum deviation is only two and a half centimeters, give or take a few micrometers-"

The computer interrupted Urahara's rant with a harsh beeping sound. "Oh dear," Urahara said, all traces of amusement abruptly gone.

"I take it that's not a good beeping sound?" Ichigo added, already getting a hollow feeling in his stomach.

The monitor now displayed no less than five markers where there should have been only three, along with an error message stating that the signal from the party's communication equipment had been lost.

Takahashi showing up was unfortunate, though not entirely unexpected. Question was, who did the fifth marker belong to? "Did he bring reinforcements?" Ichigo asked Urahara. "Maybe it's his accomplice, the one who busted him out?"

Urahara looked closely at the map. "I don't think so, Kurosaki-san. It's hard to tell from just this image, but I believe miss Nelliel is talking to to our mystery guest, judging by how close they are to each other. Yoruichi and Grimmjow aren't attacking them either, so I don't believe him or her to be hostile."

"What do we do? Will you go after them?" Urahara already had his trusty cane at the ready, but made no move to leave his post. "Not just yet. I want to see where this goes first. If they decide to make a run for it then my being there would only complicate their escape." He clenched his cane tightly when Yoruichi's marker suddenly shot forward and slammed right into Takahashi's, sending him barreling backwards several meters by the look of it. "Considering how this is unfolding though... you still remember how to operate the equipment, right?" he asked Ichigo rather sheepishly.

"I do, but... wait a second, something's happening." Ichigo pointed at the marker indicating Grimmjow's position, which had begun to blink. The area directly around it changed color, so that a roughly circular zone was now colored electric blue.

"Jaegerjaquez-san is releasing a great amount of energy. He must be preparing to- ah yes. There we go." A cone-shaped area originating from Grimmjow's position and aimed in Takahashi's direction shifted to the same bright blue color on the map. At the same time, Takahashi's marker abruptly began moving away from Grimmjow's at high speed.

Ichigo's jaw dropped. Then, he let out some very nervous-sounding laughter. "Did- did he just hit Takahashi with a Gran Rey Cero?" he asked disbelievingly. More parts of the map turned blue as the cone representing Grimmjow's Cero became wider. "Wow. He's really not holding back, is he?" Urahara calmly remarked, in a tone one would normally use when discussing the weather.

Apparently Grimmjow had finally run of juice, seeing how the high-energy readings on the map disappeared. The computer needed a little time afterward to literally redraw parts of the map after the Gran Rey Cero had decimated the area, leaving a good part of Hueco Mundo permanently scarred. Somewhere around the center of the devastation, Takahashi's marker was still visible though.

Ichigo needed a minute to find his voice. "He, uh, he's actually pretty durable, isn't he?" He managed to get out. Takahashi had tanked a Gran Rey Cero from Grimmjow at full power? Ichigo wondered how the bastard had pulled that off. "Hey, where did everyone go?" The other four markers had promptly disappeared from the map while Ichigo was still processing.

Urahara was about to say something, but stopped in favor of looking up at the ceiling. There was a pensive expression on his face. "Aha!" he said a few seconds later, as if having a Eureka-moment. "A Garganta just opened on ground level, just outside the barrier protecting the shop. I assume Yoruichi's group will be coming through it momentarily. Let's go check on them, shall we?"

Ichigo let out a relieved sigh. At least this mission hadn't ended in disaster, like the last one. Now he just hoped none of them had gotten injured too badly in that scuffle. Who knew, maybe they had even managed to obtain some information? Ichigo followed Urahara outside, eager to see everyone again. Even Grimmjow, he absently noted. Maybe he was starting to grow on him?

* * *

He had underestimated that blue-haired Arrancar. Even worse, this was already the second time in a row that he'd made that mistake. Granted, the first time couldn't really be helped, considering neither he _or_ Hyperion had been in control at the time. That disastrous first attempt at using Resurrección had thrown all of his plans into complete disarray. It was a small miracle he was still breathing after barging into Soul Society so utterly unprepared.

Still, the power that Arrancar- Grimmjow, he remembered Yoruichi calling him- had displayed was very impressive to say the least. "That technique," Katsumi started, seemingly talking to himself, "do you know what it was?" Technically, he _was_ talking to himself, he supposed. Even so, it didn't take long before he got an answer.

" **I've never seen a Cero like that before,"** a voice replied. **"I didn't think it was possible to concentrate that much energy into a relatively small beam. Still, it was pretty obvious he was overexerting himself. I could tell he was barely managing to control it near the end."**

Katsumi let out a derisive snort. "He'd better have been overexerting himself. He sent me barreling across half the damn desert." The trench that he'd dug in the sand while trying to shield himself from the attack bore testament to that.

" **I _told_ you to use Resurrección," ** Hyperion nagged at him for what was probably the hundredth time in the last five minutes.

"You know, you're really starting to sound like a broken record," Katsumi berated him. "I wasn't going to use that much power just to fight off three morons who had simply gotten too curious for their own good."

He still felt a pang of hurt when he recalled the icy look Yoruichi had given him. Any affection she might have once had for him was long gone now. To think she used to be one of the very few true friends he'd had among the members of the Gotei. Ukitake and Kyoraku were easy to get along with, but they had been more like father figures, or even like a pair of fun uncles to him. Yoruichi had been the only captain in his age group (mentally, at least) that he had been close to. It might have become something more than friendship in time, but his death sentence and the subsequent slew of events had quickly put a stop to that.

" **So, should we try replicating that Cero?"** Hyperion's voice quickly snapped Katsumi out of his reveries. "No," he decided firmly. "We're not even sure if that attack _can_ be replicated in the first place. Besides, we don't have any time to waste."

He'd finally made it all the way back to Las Noches' outer wall. It had been one interruption after the other today. First there had been that Arrancar scout who had gotten closer to Katsumi's little 'project' than he felt comfortable with. His original plan had been to simply dispose of the intruder, a decision Hyperion had heartily supported, but he had eventually decided that getting information out of the unfortunate soul would be more beneficial in the long run.

As it turned out, sparing his life had indeed been a wise choice: at least now he knew _why_ there was a castle the size of a small country in the middle of Hueco Mundo's desert. That bastard Aizen had screwed over pretty much everyone in order to satisfy his God-complex. Aizen's betrayal was also the root cause of the emergence of so many Arrancar. Those had long fled the fortress by now though, after his little 'episode' a few days back.

" **If we're not going to try copying that technique, what do you suggest we do instead?"** his inner Hollow cut in once again. **"I _could_ always teach you some more of my tricks..." ** Hyperion whispered innocently. Katsumi laughed out loud; the bastard wasn't even trying to be subtle anymore.

"Right. You give me some more of your power, and I give you a little more of my sanity, is that it?"

The sound of Hyperion's eerie, twisted laugh reverberated inside his skull. **"Don't you think it's a fair exchange? You get what you want** **in cash** **, but I'm just buying stock. You're still the majority shareholder."**

"Yes, but for how long, I wonder? Having access to your abilities won't do me much good if I have to hand over the keys to my mind and body."

" **Aw, don't you trust me, King?"** Katsumi knew he was being mocked now. The Hollow had already won, and they both knew it. All Hyperion had to do was to be patient for just a little while longer before he could claim his prize. It would be ripe for the picking soon enough. **"I'd never stand in the way of your goal, King. In fact, if it does come to that, I'd be more than willing to finish the job myself,"** his other self teased.

Katsumi halted at a seemingly random location. It looked as dull and featureless here as it did at any other stretch of desert, but to him, this was the most important location in the world right now. "You won't have to," Katsumi replied to the demon inside of him as he lifted his hand and made a vague gesture, as if drawing a symbol in the air. Right in front of him space began to warp. "I'm doing it tomorrow."

The cloaking field melted away before his eyes. This was the second one of its kind he'd created in this desert, and this one had been a rush job. Compared to the original, it was vastly inferior: someone familiar with illusions would no doubt be able to spot it, and the spell was already starting to degrade after less than a full day of being active.

It didn't matter though. After tomorrow, he wouldn't be needing it anymore.

Katsumi walked inside of the now-visible bubble, and reactivated the cloaking field once he was inside. He was standing in the center of a massive, circular slab of smooth stone. An incredibly complicated diagram was etched into its surface, and five tablets made from the same material as the slab loomed over him. The tablets stood at the very edge of the stone circle, each of them separated from its two neighbors by the exact same distance, marking the five points of a pentagram.

" **So it's finished, then?"**

"Having to relocate it so quickly made things a lot more difficult, but yes, it's finished." He started walking, tracing the outer edge of the circle and closely inspecting every tablet as he passed it. They were all the exact same shape and material, but each carried different engravings, and different spells. It had to be absolutely perfect. "Yama-ji's not gonna know what hit him."

In the back of his mind, Hyperion was cackling madly, but for once Katsumi wasn't annoyed with it. Tomorrow, he'd be able to sleep peacefully. That prospect alone was enough to help him tune out his other self.

He gathered up the mattress and blanket he'd found within the abandoned fortress and quickly made an improvised bed on top of the smooth stone. After stripping down to his underwear and folding up what was left of his Soul Reaper uniform, he slipped under the covers.

Lying in the center of an exact replica of his former prison, Katsumi closed his eyes and quickly fell asleep, smiling to himself contentedly.

* * *

"You guys really like to cut it close, don't you?" Ichigo received a chorus of groans and unintelligible replies from the Hueco Mundo expedition team. Yoruichi's group had re-entered the world of the living a short distance away from the shop. In the heat of the moment, Nel had opened a Garganta for them all to escape through, but couldn't link it directly to the shop due to the protective barriers around it. They'd been forced to walk the rest of the way back, and had all gone straight to Grimmjow's room to rest and recuperate.

"Can't talk. Tired," was the only part of Yoruichi's reply Ichigo could understand. She'd flopped down on a small mountain of pillows and wasn't showing any signs of moving anytime soon. Grimmjow clearly wasn't too happy about her taking up temporary residence in his room, going by the death glares he was periodically sending her way. Luckily for them, his earlier usage of the Gran Rey Cero had left him unable to do so much as lift a finger, so glaring was all he was going to be doing.

Nelliel was the only one out of the Hueco Mundo party to remain somewhat dignified. She had taken a seat at the table, received a cold drink from Tessai, and was calmly filling him and Urahara in about what had happened. The Arrancar they had brought with them had been bandaged up and was now resting on one of the spare futons.

Ichigo crouched down next to Grimmjow's futon. "You're bleeding," he pointed out. The Espada's sheets already had a big red spot on them, and more blood was steadily trickling from the cut in his hand.

Grimmjow lazily opened a single eye, gave Ichigo a look that couldn't have held less interest, and closed it again. "Just a scratch. It'll heal."

Considering a Hollow's natural healing ability, Ichigo figured he was probably right about that. That was no excuse to continue losing blood until it did however. Deciding to disregard Grimmjow's opinion, Ichigo went to claim the first-aid kit from the unfamiliar Arrancar's bedside and got to work on Grimmjow's injury.

"Kurosaki. What are you doing?" At least he was paying attention now, Ichigo figured, as he pulled at Grimmjow's wrist and inspected the wound more closely. "Treating your hand, obviously. You might want to get your eyesight checked out too."

"What are you, my mother? Piss off," the big blue lug weakly tried to protest. He was too tired to put any real effort into it. Ichigo was proud of himself for not taking the bait and getting into another bitch-off with Grimmjow. He tightened his hold when Grimmjow attempted to withdraw his hand and firmly placed it palm-side up on his own thighs. "Quit being a baby and let me concentrate," he admonished Grimmjow while pouring a bit of diluted hydrogen peroxide in the open wound.

It wasn't the best antiseptic out there, but it was great at getting small foreign objects- in this case, grains of sand- out of wounds quickly since it started forming bubbles once it came in contact with blood.

Ichigo wiped away the bloody foam that had formed with a clean piece of cloth and inspected the cut itself. "If you were a human, you'd need stitches. You cut yourself pretty deep." He took out some bandages from the medical kit. "I'll just bandage it up as is." He didn't even need to really think about what he was doing as he wrapped up the wound; he'd had plenty of practice at his father's clinic. Like with riding a bike, you eventually just switched on the autopilot for tasks like that.

"Done," Ichigo announced shortly after. "Can you use your hand easily like that? It's not too tight?"

Deciding to be cooperative for once, Grimmjow clenched his fingers a couple of times to test. "Works fine." Now that he was finally allowed to do so, Grimmjow drew his arm back and rolled over so he wasn't facing Ichigo anymore. "Now do me a favor and leave me the hell alone. I'm gonna sleep for a week. If the shopkeeper needs me, tell him to piss off." True to his word, he was out like a light in mere moments.

It wasn't like Ichigo had been expecting a 'thank you' or anything of the sort, yet Grimmjow's attitude still kind of pissed him off. "You're welcome, asshole." The other man wasn't responding anymore, sleep having already claimed him. Ichigo sighed, and started gathering up the equipment he'd used.

_"Another failed reconnaissance mission,"_ Ichigo mused to himself. At least this one hadn't turned out to be an utter catastrophe like the last one. No one has gotten seriously injured or captured. In fact, when the expedition team had returned there had even been a surplus of members.

The injured Arrancar they'd brought with them was one of the 'citizens' of Haven, the encampment under Tia Hallibel's control where most of the former Las Noches residents had currently settled. He had admitted to telling Takahashi the location of Haven, but Nelliel didn't seem too worried about the issue.

She had consulted Urahara and Yoruichi for advice on the matter, and all of them had agreed that Haven had very little chance of coming under attack. Takahashi had made it abundantly clear that Soul Society, more specifically Yamamoto, was his target. He'd be a fool to try and take on the Arrancar at the same time, especially when doing so didn't offer him any sort of benefit.

Ichigo had to admit he was rather curious about this Haven of theirs. Once he got his powers back, he could ask Nel if she would let him see it for himself. For now though, there were plenty of other things he needed to worry about.

* * *

_"You did it. Well done."_

_A weak croaking sound clawed its way out of Katsumi's parched throat. He opened his eyes to the most glorious night sky he had ever seen. Silent tears slid down his cheeks as he made the realization that he was still here, was still_ himself.

_On his left side lay the shattered remnants of a Hollow Mask. It had been large and heavy, with five spikes rearing backward like a clawed hand grasping the wearer's head.  
_

_On his right sat a young woman dressed in all black. Her long auburn hair was in disarray, and matted with blood. There was a gash on her temple from which blood still trickled, and one of her sleeves was almost entirely torn off, hanging on to the rest of her uniform by a narrow strip of cloth. The arm underneath it was missing what looked to be at least half a pound of flesh, with torn muscle fibers and pale bone exposed to the night air._

_The girl's warm, brown eyes shone with emotion as she smiled down at him. The night's events had been rough on them both, to say the least, yet he was the only one crying. She_ never _cried, as he would come to learn in time._

_"I'm... alive?"_

_She chuckled weakly, finding the question oddly humorous, after everything that happened. She shifted her gaze from the Soul on the ground - who was now wearing Shinigami robes - to the empty, soulless husks surrounding them on all sides, staring up at the starry skies with unseeing eyes._

_Katsumi's body was among them. With a bit of luck, it would still prove serviceable._

_"Something like that, yes."_

_She had failed here, tonight. Too many people, both living and dead, had been consumed. But she had saved one. Had prevented him from becoming... something, far worse than the Hollow that had terrorized these streets._

_The girl stuck out her hand - the one she could still move - and slowly, Katsumi reached out to take it._

_"My name is Aoi," she introduced herself. "Aoi Watanabe. I'm a Soul Reaper." When she smiled, she_ ** _smiled_** , with the corners of her eyes crinkling, and showing off every single one of her teeth. Katsumi thought she was beautiful. Somehow, the blood and grime only served to emphasize that.

_"And now, so are you."_

* * *

He opened his eyes to be greeted with Hueco Mundo's moon, hanging overhead.

It had been a long time since he'd thought about that night. His first meeting with Hyperion. More importantly, his first meeting with Aoi.

" **Did ya have a nice dream, King?"** Hyperion asked mockingly. It was hard to be sure if he was really mocking him, or just making conversation. It was just how he always talked.

With how much control he'd handed over to the demon, Katsumi wouldn't be surprised if the bastard had seen the dream too. Hell, maybe he was the one who induced it in the first place, as some sort of sick joke. It wouldn't surprise him in the least. The surprising part was how little he found himself caring.

"It was alright," he replied noncommittally. "Very nostalgic." He got up, stretched, and began his habitual morning inspection of the Seal and the cloaking field that kept it hidden.

The Seal, as expected, was in perfect condition. It was his masterpiece. He'd started working on it almost immediately after he broke out of the original version, and spent several days meticulously applying every layer of enchantments. The cloaking field however, had only about twenty hours left before it would break down according to his estimations. That didn't really matter though. It had just about served its purpose.

" **You all done with the preparations?"** Hyperion chimed in again.

"Yes. I have everything I need. All that's left is to put out some bait to keep those guys in Karakura busy." He removed his undergarments and put on some of the clean ones he'd found in one of the fortress' laundry rooms earlier. Clean underwear became quite the luxury item when you were an escaped convict. "They could become a major pain in our ass if they decide to stick their nose in my affairs again."

" **No need to worry, King. I thought you some neat tricks, didn't I? You can take them, easy."**

Already being talked to like a pet, was he? Well, he should probably be getting used to it. He could just try to off himself after dealing with Yamamoto in order to spare himself the embarrassment, but he doubted Hyperion would let him succeed. No, this was just something he was going to have to live with.

Quickly throwing on the rags and tatters that used to be his uniform, along with a cloak he'd found lying around, he stepped outside the barrier and sealed it again behind him.

His mind was made up. He'd been hurt many times over the course of his life. Aoi's death was something he would never be able to put behind him completely. As for Yamamoto's betrayal, that was a fresh wound. From his perspective, anyway. Time inside Izanagi's Seal passed slowly relative to the outside world, and he'd been unconscious for the majority of it.

Once he took his revenge on Yamamoto, he'd have some form of closure. Sure, there were many other loose ends he'd be leaving behind, but that was only natural. There weren't many people who were lucky enough to die with all their affairs in order. Katsumi wasn't planning on dying, but becoming a prisoner of his own mind was close enough, in his opinion.

He had passed the point of caring. He was tired. So very, very tired. And tonight, he'd finally be able to rest.

He made sure his Zanpakuto, his most trusted friend and partner, was properly attached to its sash. He was ready. "Alright, you two," he spoke to the other parts of his soul: his inner strength, and his inner demon. "Let's put an end to this."


	11. Chapter 11

### Chapter 11: Invasion

All the way up on the roof of his favorite skyscraper, Katsumi found he had an excellent overview of Karakura Town. He'd been camped out there for the better part of the morning. During that time, he had learned that much more was going on in this city than what met the eye. Not only did Yoruichi and some other familiar faces live here now, but there was another, separate group of Soul Reapers that had set up a secret base in the area.

Frustratingly enough, he still hadn't managed to discern its location. The only reason he even knew they had to be here was because he could periodically sense some very faint, suppressed Reiatsu coming from somewhere on ground level. The building they used as a hideout was a complete unknown to him. Whoever had created the barrier that hid it from the eyes of the public must have been highly skilled. If even Katsumi couldn't detect, let alone see through the barrier, then said person must have either been very close to or even above his own skill level when it came to Kido. Either that, or they had used a unique ability that Katsumi couldn't figure out the workings of.

"This could be problematic," he muttered to himself. If there were this many powerful Shinigami milling about in town, he was going to need a far bigger distraction in order to keep them all busy. As it stood, he already had Kisuke Urahara, Tessai Tsukabishi ( _the freaking ex-Kido Corps commander!_ ), Yoruichi, the Arrancar named Grimmjow, a bunch of kids he didn't know the names of, and gods knew how many other Captain-class Shinigami to deal with now. What the hell was  _wrong_  with this town?!

There was  _some_ good news at least: his arm had finally finished healing. Yamamoto had done some serious damage; even his Hierro had melted and burned when faced with the hellfire that man commanded. Underestimating the old man would be a fatal mistake. Just having both his arms functional again wasn't going to be anywhere near enough to stand up to the strongest Shinigami who ever lived.

Hyperion snickered, clearly not sharing his worries.  **"Do ya need some help, King?"**

Katsumi clenched his teeth, already getting annoyed with the Hollow's mannerisms. "No, I can handle this myself just fi-" he paused. Why was he refusing? After all, he had nothing to lose anymore. If he was going to fight Yamamoto he would need all the power Hyperion had to offer, which meant that at the end of the day he'd be giving up his body to the Hollow anyway. Why not have him make himself useful for once? Hell, he was even offering.

"Alright," Katsumi whimsically spoke up. "Why don't you show me what you can do?"

It remained silent in his head for a second or two.  **"Really? I honestly didn't think you'd say yes.** **But hey; your wish is my command."** An image of the Hollow bowing in a very exaggerated manner involuntarily popped up in his head. **"** **Gimme control for a second, would you** **King** **?"**

While it had sounded like a question, Hyperion didn't bother to wait around for Katsumi's permission. Before he knew what was happening, his body had already stopped responding to his commands. Hyperion wasn't one to waste time; he immediately put on his Hollow mask, and began raising their Reiatsu to absurdly high levels. So much for stealth.

"What are you doing?!" Katsumi furiously demanded. A chill went through him when he realized  _he_ was now the one speaking into their shared mind rather than with his actual vocal cords.

" **I'm helping!"** the bastard gleefully replied. He continued to channel more energy, causing it all to build up around his throat, lungs, as well as said vocal chords. Right away, Katsumi realized what he was doing.

With a sound unlike anything a creature on Earth could have replicated, Hyperion let out a terrible, demonic shriek that echoed throughout the city. It was fortunate the average person wouldn't be able to hear it. That would have caused quite a stir.

" **There ya go, King! You can take it from here, can't ya? Have fun~!"**  The way he'd sang the word 'fun' made Katsumi want to punch him. Unfortunately, doing so would be rather counterproductive. Shared body and all that.

Hyperion voluntarily handed the controls back over to Katsumi - this time, at least - who shook his head to reorient himself. Having your body taken for a joyride felt  _weird._

He looked up at the sky, which had already begun to darken ominously. While he had been planning on using Hollow bait to lure some of the corrupted spirits here and keep Karakura's little defense force occupied, he hadn't intended to start a major invasion. Just a few dozen run-off-the-mill, garden variety Hollows would have sufficed. Maybe a single Menos Grande for good measure. Yes, that would have done nicely. What Hyperion had set in motion just now however, was going to make an attack by a Menos Grande look like a freaking tea party.

The first portals were already beginning to open up in the sky. Katsumi hurriedly created one of his own, not intending to stick around for when the shit hit the fan. He made sure to take his bag with him before he left. Once he arrived in Soul Society, he was going to need that stuff if he didn't want to be discovered the second he set foot in the Seireitei.

Still... he genuinely hoped he'd been right in assessing the fighting power of Karakura's resident Shinigami. If not, then this town was  _fucked._

* * *

"What the hell was that?!" It was Tatsuki who spoke up first. Miss Ochi interrupted her lecture about English verb conjugations in order to reprimand her. "Miss Arisawa! Mind your language while in class, please!"

"I heard it too, Tatsuki-chan!" Orihime cut the woman off. "What was that? It gave me the chills!"

Chad and Uryu both turned around to look at Ichigo, signaling that they had heard it as well. Even Mizuiro, Keigo and Chizuru were searching for the origin of that awful screech. The other, less Spiritually gifted students were muttering among themselves in confusion, wondering what they were talking about. The fact that the rest of the class hadn't been able to hear it only confirmed Ichigo's suspicions.

Miss Ochi, being accustomed to all the crazy things that seemed to happen around Ichigo and his friends by now, took all this in stride. "I didn't hear anything, though. Now, might I please continue, miss Arisawa?" She was just about to continue the lesson when the light from outside suddenly diminished in intensity. A blanket of dark gray clouds formed unusually quickly. "That's strange. The weather report said it wouldn't rain today..." the teacher muttered curiously.

"I have to go to the bathroom!" Ichigo called out to miss Ochi, leaving his stuff behind and dashing out of the classroom before she could reply. Something was obviously very, very wrong here. Chad, Uryu and Orihime hastily made similar poor excuses and followed him out into the hallway. A lesser teacher than miss Ochi probably would have broken down crying after all the times this had happened. That woman had the patience of a Saint. Either that, or she just wasn't a very responsible teacher.

"Where are we going, Kurosaki-kun?" Orihime asked. It was strange how the others still tended to think of him as the leader of their group, in spite of his current, less-than-useful state. "To Urahara's!" he replied. "Something big is going down, and I have a feeling it won't be good!"

Once they were out on the streets, it became all the more clear just how bad the situation was. Dozens of portals leading to Hueco Mundo opened up in the sky, and a veritable army of lesser Hollows came pouring through. Their numbers increased rapidly, going from a just a few dozen to hundreds in less than a minute. The giant, vertical cracks that began to form at various locations around town signaled that a bunch of Menos Grande would soon be joining in on the activities as well.

"How is this possible?" Uryu wondered, awestruck. "Did that scream somehow attract them here?"

Ichigo thought back, trying to remember exactly what had happened when he'd first heard that god-awful sound. Hearing it had... triggered something within him. Something primal. It was a sensation he would have associated with his Hollow side, if it had still existed. He did have  _some_ power left though, however little it may have been. Maybe a shred of his pale 'twin' still lingered somewhere?

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's what called them here," he agreed with Uryu. "And I think I know who's behind this too," he added bitterly. Orihime nodded excitedly. "I believe you're right, Kurosaki-kun. It was very faint, but I managed to pick up his Reiatsu when it happened."

Ichigo cursed under his breath. It was one thing after another ever since that bastard woke up from his century-long beauty sleep. He couldn't wait to get his powers back, so he could personally rip Takahashi a couple new orifices and put an end to this mess.

As for the current state of his abilities... it wasn't good. That scream from earlier had affected Orihime to the point she had physically shuddered. Even someone like Keigo, who was nowhere near as sensitive as she was to otherworldly matters, had gone white as a sheet. Ichigo himself had barely been affected at all. In fact, when he'd heard it, it had been as if the sound was being transmitted through a malfunctioning radio.

Urahara had said he would only be able to communicate with spirits for another week. The end of that grace period was approaching far quicker than Ichigo would have liked.

"Ichigo," Chad spoke up, "me and Uryu are going to take out as many as we can. Don't do anything reckless, and stay close to Orihime!" he ordered. Ichigo nodded somewhat meekly in response, and the pair took off using their respective high-speed techniques, quickly taking to the sky. Damn; he really missed being able to walk on thin air like that.

"Kurosaki-kun!" Orihime snapped him out of his reveries. "Tessai-san is on his way here. I can sense him just a little bit up ahead. Let's go meet up." She ducked into the ally to her left, and Ichigo didn't have much choice but to follow his newly-assigned bodyguard. Indeed, after a two minute walk they came across the giant of a man; apparently he had been looking for them as well. He wasn't by himself though: Jinta and Ururu were accompanying him, carrying their signature oversized club and rocket-launcher. The two groups hurriedly joined up.

"I'm very relieved to see you both unharmed," Tessai began, breathing just a little heavier than usual. They must have run like hell to arrive here as fast as they did. The shop was still quite some distance away, and they must have needed some time to prepare their equipment before heading out. Above them, a swarm of Hollows was rapidly descending onto the town. A few of them seemed to have teamed up and were headed in their general direction, probably attracted by the group's Reiatsu. If they thought they would getting an easy meal, they had another thing coming.

Something was different about Tessai today. For the first time since Ichigo met him, he wasn't wearing his work clothes, but the standard black Shinigami uniform. His Gigai was probably still at Urahara Shoten. While Tessai was talking, Jinta and Ururu jumped up onto the roof of the building next to them and took care of the Hollows that had ventured a little too close to the group. Well, Ururu did. Jinta just yelled at her and pulled her hair for not leaving him any. It wasn't like she could help it; a rocket launcher did tend to be more effective than a blunt melee weapon. The boy had only himself to blame.

Ichigo tried not to let it show, but he was becoming quite anxious with the whole situation. Not because of the Hollow invasion (though that was certainly a contributing factor) but because he could see almost right through Tessai. His voice sounded muffled too, despite their close proximity to one another. His powers were finally giving out completely. It didn't exactly come as a surprise, but still...

"It's a good thing I came upon you so quickly, Kurosaki-san," Tessai continued, formal as always. "The boss asked me to give you this." He reached inside of his robes and pulled out what looked to be a remote control for a child's toy. "What does it do?" Ichigo asked suspiciously. Urahara wasn't in the habit of giving away equipment for free. There was always a catch, and Ichigo was sure this time would be no exception.

He kept a close watch on Tessai, but the man's facial expression didn't betray anything. "It is a remote control," he simply said, looking at something behind Ichigo. "For that." The teen turned around, seeing only the street they had just come from. "For what, exactly?"

Tessai simply lifted an arm and pointed. Ichigo tried again, carefully scanning the area Tessai indicated. Again, he saw the street... a little higher: some apartment buildings... higher: the roofs of said buildings... even higher: a skyscraper off in the distance- Wait. Back up. There was something on the roof of the residential blocks. Something a little hard for him to make out. It seemed... oddly transparent. It was a... white blur? With... a smudge of blue on top of it? Oh.

Oh no. This had to be some kind of sick joke.

"We really needed someone to watch over him, and the boss figured that you would be eager to help out in some way..." Tessai calmly explained while Ichigo's mind struggled to comprehend what Urahara had just tasked him with. Clearly, he wasn't the only one unhappy with this arrangement. From across the street, perched on the roof of one of the apartment buildings, Grimmjow was giving him a look so intense, so nasty it could have burnt a hole through titanium armor plating.

"Tessai," Ichigo cautiously spoke up, trying (and failing) not to freak out. "Is that twisted, perverted, bucket-hat-wearing excuse for a human being seriously asking me to be Grimmjow's babysitter?

The taller man had the decency to look somewhat apologetic, at least. "Well, err- that is..." He was squirming, obviously remembering what had happened the last time he had pissed Ichigo off. "The boss believed that you were- that you were the right man for the job," he stammered out. Both Ichigo and Grimmjow, albeit from quite some distance away in the Arrancar's case, were now boring holes into him with the combined weight of their furious gazes. "Well then, I ah- I really ought to get going. Barriers to set up and whatnot," he nervously managed to get out. Ichigo noticed Tessai was trying very hard not to make eye contact. Most likely out of fear that he would spontaneously burst into flames if he did. "Please, do try to get along." Before Ichigo could protest further, the man had taken off with a Flash Step and disappeared from sight.

Ichigo's right eye twitched. He'd noticed that had been happening remarkably often when Urahara was involved. Orihime had wisely remained quiet once she realized in what direction the conversation was going. However, considering Ichigo had completely halted all activity and was now just standing there, furiously staring at the place where Tessai had disappeared, she figured she should do something. She nervously cleared her throat to draw his attention. "Um, Kurosaki-kun?" No reaction. "Ichigo?" she tried again. Very slowly, the teen turned his head to look at her. Even though she knew his anger wasn't directed at her, she still blanched a little when she saw the look in his eyes. While she didn't want to push her luck, they did have a major Hollow invasion on their hands that urgently needed dealing with. "Shall we go up to Grimmjow-san?"

Very stiffly, Ichigo managed the slightest of nods. With her Shun Shun Rikka, Orihime had three of the fairies generate her trusty triangular shield for use as a floating platform. They both got on, and Orihime quickly had the shield rise up and fly over to the other side of the street. Considering there was no surprised shouting from the pedestrians below, it was probably safe to assume nobody had bothered to look directly upward whilst they were doing so.

Grimmjow still hadn't moved so much as an inch in all the time they had spent talking with Tessai. Ichigo immediately noticed the thick metal collar around his neck. It was quite a humiliating way to keep him under control, but it got the job done, he supposed. Not that he approved of such a method.

"Hi," Ichigo greeted him, having found his voice again. Acting as Grimmjow's warden may not have been the most pleasant of jobs, but at least he wasn't the one with the bomb around his neck. Ichigo figured he should at least try to be civil to Grimmjow so as to no risk setting him off. At least not while he and Orihime were inside of the blast radius.

"The shopkeeper told me I'd get to go out and fight. I guess he forgot to mention he was assigning me a nanny," the Espada said by way of greeting.

Ichigo sighed and ran a hand through his hair out of frustration. "Trust me, this isn't how I imagined my day going either." While he understood the necessity of keeping Grimmjow under control, especially in the middle of a city with hundreds of people milling about, Ichigo still found this whole situation rather degrading. Both for himself, since he was probably going to spend the next few hours frantically running around town in an effort to keep up with Grimmjow, as well as for his 'charge'. The whole exploding dog collar thing could not have been pleasant for him.

"I don't like this either, Grimmjow. You probably like it even less, but I promise you: I will not be using this thing," he held up the remote for Grimmjow to see, "unless you leave me absolutely no other option. Just don't start murdering innocent people and you won't even know I'm here."

"Whatever," Grimmjow dismissed his words. Clearly, the man was still pretty damn pissed about the whole deal. And for once, Ichigo found himself on his side. "Can I get going now? 'Cause I really want to kill something," Grimmjow continued. "Or do you want me to beg first? Roll over? Should I call you 'master', maybe?" At this point he wasn't really saying the words so much as spitting them out.

Ichigo could tell he was being sarcastic, but was still shocked by the amount of venom in his words. Clearly he didn't like being treated like a dog. Especially not, it seemed, when Ichigo was the one holding the leash. And let's face it, treating him like a dangerous animal was exactly what Urahara (and by extension, Ichigo) was currently doing, even if it was for perfectly valid reasons.

Grimmjow wasn't finished just yet however. "Would you like that, Kurosaki?" he continued, seeing how much it was bothering Ichigo. "You'd probably get off on that shit, wouldn't you?"

"Too far, Grimmjow," the teen seethed. " I get that you're pissed, but if you don't stop spouting this crap right now-"

"Ooh, did I hit a nerve there, Kurosaki? Didn't think you were the type." His lips curled back into a mocking smirk. He was obviously baiting Ichigo, hoping to get into a fight. "Are you gonna punish me now? Set off my shock collar?"

"Hey!" Orihime suddenly interrupted. She was studying the remote in Ichigo's hand. "There really is a button for that!" The second she realized her mistake she slapped both hands over her mouth, but the damage was done.

Silence reigned. You could have heard a pin drop twenty miles away.

"I- I'm not helping, am I?" she sheepishly spoke up with the tiniest of voices. "I'll be quiet."

Grimmjow sighed deeply. He no longer seemed interested in continuing the conversation. He was still quite visibly upset, but seemed to have decided to stick with brooding and throwing them angry looks for now. "Try not to fall  _too_  far behind, Kurosaki," was all he said (rather condescendingly, at that) before taking a jumping start, heading straight for the swirling mass of Hollows up above.

"We should stay here, Kurosaki-kun," Orihime almost-whispered. She clearly wasn't going to be forgetting her little slip-up anytime soon. "It's too dangerous to go after him. If I use my shield to take us up there we won't be able to defend ourselves, and I could never take on that many Hollows with just Tsubaki."

Ichigo nodded absently, looking at the remote in his hands again. There were just two buttons: a blue one with a lightning bolt on it, and a smaller red one with a plastic, protective cover over it. He could guess what that last one did.

Just what had Urahara been thinking, giving him something like this? It just seemed so... distasteful. Using dirty methods like this wasn't at all like the shopkeepers usual MO.

Had he intended to force Grimmjow to become Ichigo's personal bodyguard like this? Was this Urahara's twisted, yet well-intentioned way of protecting Ichigo? If so, it was a pretty stupid plan. This was only going to make it more likely for Grimmjow to throw him to the wolves. Ichigo had a good enough grasp of the man's personality to know that much, at least.

He looked around, trying to estimate the enemy's numbers, but it was a wasted effort. They were  _everywhere._ They were literally blotting out the sky. Even now, more kept coming in from Hueco Mundo. Never before had Ichigo seen so many Hollows in one place.

Up above, Grimmjow was tearing through the small fry with nothing but his bare hands, occasionally firing a Cero that evaporated around a dozen of them with every blast. At least he was having fun now, Ichigo supposed. The fact that he was slaughtering his fellow Hollows didn't seem to bother him one bit, not that Ichigo had expected it to.

That brought up an interesting metaphysical dilemma though: just what happened to the souls when a Hollow was slain, but not consumed by another Hollow? There was no way for them to pass on to Soul Society without a Konso being performed. While Arrancar did possess Zanpakuto, theirs appeared to lack that particular ability. They weren't being destroyed either; only a Quincy's arrows were capable of doing that. The only remaining option seemed to be for the Souls to simply rejoin the Cycle of Reincarnation, skipping over the whole 'afterlife' part.

Speaking of Quincy. A little Eastward of their current position, Uryu's arrows were flying about in pretty much every direction, some even reaching far enough to perforate the layer of clouds above. Had Uryu always been able to move that fast? He appeared as nothing but a blur to Ichigo. Chad was a little further away, but his rather flashy attacks easily gave away his position. It was a good thing those two were helping out; their techniques were well-suited to taking out the cannon fodder in a highly efficient manner. When they were clumped up like this killing them became almost pathetically easy.

Looking away from his friends, Ichigo redirected his gaze toward Grimmjow again. Keeping an eye on the Espada was supposed to be his job after all. It was hard to find him again, in between the throngs of lesser Hollows. He turned around, when-

"Ichigo!" Orihime tackled him to the ground. Only at the very last second had he sensed the attack coming. He wouldn't have been able to dodge in time by himself.

No sooner had they hit the ground than a large, feathered Hollow passed over them, its claws just barely missing them as it swooped by.

"Tsubaki!" Orihime called out, sending her only offense-oriented fairy after it before it had the chance to turn around and charge again. She must have been pretty pissed; Tsubaki cut the Hollow clean in half without a second's hesitation. With a final pained screech, it fell from the sky and faded away.

With the offending Hollow vanquished, the two of them got up and dusted themselves off. "Are you alright, Kurosaki-kun?" Her cheeks had reddened a little. It could have been because of the exertion, but it was far more likely the result of her having lain on top of him just now.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He checked the remote again, making sure he hadn't accidentally pushed one of the buttons during his fall. "Thanks, Orihime." The girl smiled reassuringly and went back to watching the area. Ichigo figured he should do the same, and resumed his search for Grimmjow.

Well, at least one member of their team was enjoying himself. While Ichigo and Orihime had been busy trying very hard not to get eaten, the bastard had simply continued his massacre. He was like carnage personified; it was actually raining blood underneath the scene of Grimmjow's slaughterfest. While Ichigo watched, Grimmjow bent over forward, used Reishi to solidify the air at his feet, and shot forward with Sonido like being launched from a cannon. Ichigo nearly got whiplash just trying to follow his movements.

His target was fairly obvious; a Gillian had just managed to shamble through the Air Gate it had created, its movements fairly slow and awkward due to its massive size, and Grimmjow was more than happy to finally have a target that wouldn't die from him concentrating at it too hard.

The building-sized Hollow announced its presence to the rest of the invaders with a loud screech. Said screech ended rather abruptly when Grimmjow's foot smashed the top half of its mask in. Kicking off again against the Hollow's face, Grimmjow put some distance in between them while simultaneously firing a Bala at it. The combined force of the kicks and the energy bullet were more than enough to send the whole damned thing tumbling over backwards. It was a good thing it had chosen to appear in one of the parks rather than in a residential area, but even so...

"OI!" Ichigo furiously screamed at the Espada. "Be careful about where you throw those things!" Grimmjow was pretty far away, but if the raised middle finger he was currently directing at Ichigo was any indication, he had gotten the message loud and clear.

Ichigo sucked his teeth, his admittedly short fuse just about ready to go off. "That guy is really starting to get on my nerves," he grumbled at Orihime.

"Well, he  _is_ helping us, at least," she tried to defend him. "Although it is in a rather... destructive manner." As if to emphasize her point, Grimmjow fired another Bala that made the Menos' head burst open like a watermelon.

As soon as it was dead, the other four Menos that had made it to the world of the living let out mournful screeches as they sensed their comrade's demise. Grimmjow, true to his nature, chose to take that as a challenge.

Without any heads-up to Ichigo, the Arrancar dashed off toward the other side of the city and headed straight for the nearest Gillian while leaving Ichigo and Orihime blowing in the wind. That blue button on the remote was beginning to look more and more tempting to Ichigo.

He was just about to ask Orihime for her opinion on whether or not they should pursue when something else caught his attention. Something big, bulky, and headed straight for them.

"Orihime."

"I know." Her fairies started circling protectively around the two of them. The rapidly approaching individual didn't bother with subtlety. From the looks of it, it was planning on ramming them. Orihime wasn't the least bit intimidated. Even if it had some bulk on it, no ordinary Hollow was capable of breaking through her shield. At the speed it was going, it was going to get pancaked and would die without Orihime having to lift a finger. "Santen Kesshun," she calmly spoke, even as the Hollow charged at them with incredible speed.

BANG!

As predicted, it came to an abrupt halt when it hit the barrier. What Orihime hadn't counted on however was that it would have enough force behind it to actually damage her shield. Nor that the attacker would prove tough enough to survive the crash.

"That's quite the sturdy barrier you have there,  _missy_ ," the Hollow hissed. Most of it's enormous body was covered with reptilian scales. It looked horrendously strong physically; its body seemed to consist solely of nothing but huge, bulging muscle. It had arms like steel cables, and claws that seemed to be designed specifically to tear through flesh in the most painful way possible. Its abdominal muscles were those of a Greek God on steroids. In stark contrast to its heavy-set body however, was its head. Its neck in particular was quite thin, and unnaturally long. Coupled with its cobra-like mask, it looked like a snake had simply plugged its tail-end into another Hollow's body. If their lives hadn't been in serious danger right now, Ichigo probably would have found the overall effect quite comical.

Orihime quickly took a few steps back once she realized her mistake. This was no ordinary Hollow. The Reiatsu it emitted was far too intense for that. As it turned out, the Gillian weren't the only Menos-class to have made it to Karakura.

The Hollow dug its nails into the shield. "It's not very often a Void Call is sounded. I found myself quite curious to see who did it, and why. Now, I see that there are plenty of interesting beings hiding out in this city. I'll be sure to savor the taste of every one of them." It grinned evilly at the two humans in front of it, Orihime's shield slowly cracking under the force it was exerting. If Orihime had been by herself, she most likely would have been able to defeat it without too much trouble. But when she had Ichigo to watch out for?

Still, it wasn't like she had much of a choice. She adopted a combat-ready stance, grateful that the short skirt of her school uniform allowed for easy movement. Tsubaki moved to her side, ready to strike at her command. "Stay close to me, Kurosaki-kun."

Ichigo quickly did as asked. The Adjuchas snickered when it saw Orihime's serious look. "So you're going try and fight me, are you? I do like a girl with  _spunk_." A forked tongue flickered out of it's mouth. "Show me what you've got,  _missy_."

* * *

With the cloak he'd recovered from Las Noches covering his face, Katsumi carefully navigated the streets of Rukongai. He was rather displeased, though not the least bit surprised, that it was every bit as bad as he remembered. Maybe even slightly worse: he was pretty sure there hadn't been so many drunkards brawling out in the streets the last time he passed through this area, over a century ago.

Currently, he was passing through the 35th Eastern district, of which the name eluded him. While this should have been one of the 'better' districts of Rukongai, he still passed by an alarmingly large number of decrepit buildings and starving beggars. People had tried to mug him no less than sixteen times in the roughly twenty minutes since his arrival.

After having sent Number Sixteen limping away with a rather impressive collection of broken bones, word seemed to have spread and people quickly learned to avoid him. Hand-to-hand combat wasn't exactly his forte, but the sheer difference in Spiritual Pressure between him and the people here made him pretty much impervious to their attacks. Besides, he couldn't possibly use any Kido here. Doing so would cause him to be instantly exposed, and having the entire Gotei on his ass was something he'd rather avoid right now. Plus, there was a good chance they were already expecting him. Kisuke Urahara would most likely see the Hollow invasion in Karakura for the distraction it really was.

All the more reason for him to hurry. This just so happened to be the part of the operation that depended on luck the most though. If he wanted his plan to succeed, he would have to find and isolate a Shinigami on patrol in Rukongai, and do so without drawing attention to himself. The closer he got to Seireitei, the better his chances were of coming across someone he could use. Unfortunately, doing so would also heighten the risk of being discovered.

Since district 35 turned out to be a bust, he crossed over into district 34. Once again, there were very mild improvements to the overall quality of life when compared to the previous area. Less beggars for instance, and more people wearing sandals rather than going barefoot. It was downright disgusting how the council of 46 hoarded all the wealth within the borders of the Seireitei – most of all in their own pockets – while leaving millions upon millions of people to fend for themselves in the slums. Katsumi had hoped to change that, but unfortunately he was out of time. Perhaps he would get the chance to reclaim his body and further his goals sometime in the future. He wasn't getting his hopes up though. There was a much greater chance he – well, Hyperion, technically speaking – would be hunted down and killed long before such an opportunity arose. His inner Hollow wasn't the type to play nice.

He closed his eyes and focused on his surroundings. He estimated the Spirit Power of every single individual within his considerable detection range, scanning many hundreds of Reiatsu emissions in mere moments.

Katsumi stopped in his tracks. A smile found its way onto his face.

Bingo. Among the massive crowd, there was a single person whose Reiatsu was undoubtedly higher than the norm.

A lone Shinigami wandering around the streets of Rukongai? A Shinigami who, judging by their Reiatsu, was just barely strong enough to hold the rank of a seated officer, and was most likely miles removed from any form of backup? It looked like he'd found his ticket into the Seireitei.

Unless of course fate decided to fuck with him and he was actually dealing with either a rogue or a very well-trained undercover agent. Also, he sincerely hoped whoever he was dealing with wouldn't have green hair. He had every color hair dye on him  _except_ for green.

Since he was being picky anyway, he decided it would be preferable if he were dealing with a man. He'd brought a pair of small pillows he could use as fake breasts if needed, but he'd never be able to live it down if he actually had to use them.

The most important factors were height and musculature though. Pretty much everything else he could fake up to a certain degree. He could not however suddenly decide to grow or shrink a few centimeters depending on the circumstances. Katsumi was fairly tall and, at best, toned. If this person turned out to be a roid-raging midget he was screwed.

Hopping over the at times unstable roofs of houses and shacks, he quickly closed in on the source of the Reiatsu while suppressing his own to imperceptible levels. Once he was close enough, he looked down at his target. What he saw made him sigh in defeat.

"Fake breasts it is, then."

* * *

Ichigo did his best to keep up with Orihime as she moved around. One misstep on his part could cost them both their lives right now. The hulking snake-like Hollow kept on taking repeated jabs at the shield, damaging it but never outright breaking it.

"That's a very interesting power you have there, missy. And I can sense a lot of energy coming from your boyfriend too... I'm sure both of you are going to taste  _delicious."_  The way it hissed when it said 'delicious' made Ichigo shudder in disgust. Orihime made a strange, high-pitched sound, but Ichigo guessed that had more to do with the 'boyfriend' comment rather than the idea of getting eaten.

His friends were  _weird._

Orihime was making some valiant efforts to take the Hollow down, but with Tsubaki as her only means of attacking, her options were understandably limited. Ichigo had considered calling Chad or Uryu and ask them for help, but had quickly decided against it. Uryu had his hands full defending the school, and Chad was busy dealing with the Menos Grande that were running around. If either one of them were to come to their aid now, many other people were going to die. Their friends who were still in school would likely be first in line. Hollows had a major appetite for anyone with spiritual awareness.

They both dodged to the side when the Adjuchas flanked them using Sonido, and attempted to slash at them where the shield didn't reach. They managed to escape unharmed, however...

"Hmmm? What's this little toy you dropped?" The Hollow reached down to pick up the remote.

Ichigo's insides went cold. Thanks to all those crazy maneuvers he'd made while evading, the remote must have slipped out of his pants pocket. He saw how Orihime instantly blanched. He must have looked much the same, if not worse. It felt like all the blood had instantly drained from his face.

Seeing their reactions, the Hollow leered at them mischievously. "I see. This device is important, is it not? Well, there's only one way to find out what it does." It placed a single claw on the blue button and pushed down.

Ichigo's breath hitched. The Hollow looked around to see if it could figure out what the remote did. It let go of the button again.

"Kurosaki-kun. Grimmjow's Reiatsu briefly weakened when that Hollow used the remote, but it's back to normal now," Orihime whispered in his ear. "I believe he'll be heading back here to see what's going on."

Ichigo bit his lip. Grimmjow coming back now could either be good, or really, really bad. If he managed to take out the Hollow without complications, they'd be saved. If, however, the Hollow were to set off his collar while Grimmjow was so close to them...

"How...  _disappointing_ ," the snake head hissed again. "Maybe the other button will do something more interesting..." The Adjuchas mused to itself.

"No!" Ichigo screamed, instinctively charging towards the Hollow... and quickly realizing how stupid that was. Skidding to a halt, he took a big jump backwards. The Hollow appeared to be smirking at him from behind its mask. It was holding its hand up in the air, ready to strike. One more step and those razor-sharp claws would have gutted him.

"Oh? Now I'm  _really_ curious to see what the red one does." It mockingly slid a finger over the plastic cover protecting the button. It quickly dropped that teasing demeanor when a bright red Cero nearly blasted its upper body into dust.

With a low humming sound, Grimmjow materialized right next to Ichigo. "So you dodged that. Slippery bastard, aren't ya?" The Hollow froze when it laid eyes on Grimmjow. "A- an Espada?! But- but why?!" It stuttered, utterly terrified. The Adjuchas' gaze nervously darted between the three people there as it tried to figure out what was going on.

"Kurosaki, two questions." Grimmjow's tone was low, and dangerous. The Arrancar refused to look at him, but Ichigo imagined there must have been a mighty scary expression on his face. He swallowed. "Was it you who pushed that button?"

"No." Ichigo was convinced that a wrong answer here would cost him his life.

"Second question: what exactly is that shitstain over there holding?"

Ichigo took a deep breath before answering. "That... that would be the remote."

He saw Grimmjow's shoulders tense. "I see." That was all he needed to know apparently. Faster than Ichigo's eyes could follow, Grimmjow charged at the Adjuchas-class Hollow with a burst of Sonido, Pantera leading the way. It was already over before Ichigo had time to blink. It just didn't end in a way any of them had expected. Through some bizarre twist of fate, the Adjuchas was still standing. Grimmjow, who by all accounts should have destroyed such an adversary without breaking a sweat, went completely limp mid-jump and fell like a puppet with its strings cut.

Pantera clattered to the ground, propelled forward by Grimmjow's momentum and skittered loudly across the roof, coming to a stop by the Hollow's feet. A shocked silence followed. None of them, not even the Hollow, seemed to have expected this outcome.

"Heh... Hehehe..." Still somewhat nervously, the Hollow began to laugh. "Hahahaha!" Once the realization that it had come out the victor sunk in, it brazenly cackled in triumph.

The Hollow hadn't struck Grimmjow down. How could it have? It didn't possess so much as a fraction of the speed that Grimmjow had displayed. In the time it had taken the Espada to leap across the entire length of roof and close the distance between him and his adversary, it hadn't been able to move an inch.

It did however, have just enough time to push down on a single button.

* * *

Katsumi was not amused.

Not only was the woman he was impersonating so slender he'd been forced to put on a goddamn corset, but she was quite well-endowed to boot. He had to use two pairs of cushions in order to semi-accurately recreate her bust. The hair and uniform he'd gotten lucky with at least: her hair was straight and about the same length as his own, so all he'd really needed to do was dye it black and tie it up in a ponytail. As for her uniform: once he stuffed the chest area, it fit him like a glove. The overall resemblance was close enough.

The important part was that he could pass for the woman from a distance. There was no need to bother with details like make-up or the exact hairstyle. The really important part wasn't anything as superficial as that.

No. The one thing he needed to get into the Seireitei, the one thing that truly mattered, was the Reiatsu signature of an enlisted Shinigami. More specifically, a Shinigami who had received clearance to travel between Rukongai and the Seireitei.

You see, Katsumi possessed a unique talent. It was something he learned to do while furthering his research into new ways of learning and utilizing Kido.

Normally when casting a spell you utilized a Spirit Chant, and used that to give shape to the raw Spirit Energy required for the spell. That was the very foundation on which all schools of contemporary Kido were based. However, Katsumi had already been using Kido long before Aoi had taught him his first Incantation. That most basic of attacks he had learned from the spirits at the temple; the ability to gather up raw energy, force it into a ball, and shoot it at your target... That too, was essentially Kido. A form of Kido that didn't require any Spirit Chants and, as a result, was much more flexible and intuitive when compared with the regular version. The major downside was that it was a lot harder to control.

Katsumi had further expanded on that basic ability. He had applied the same principles used to form that ball of energy to pre-existing spells, leading to the creation of his line of Modified Kido. In time, he had learned to apply those principles to the energy one subconsciously emitted - Reiatsu. As a result, Katsumi was now the only person in the Seireitei capable of tampering with his own Reiatsu signature and, by extension, copying that of others.

Thinking about it though, it was certainly possible his former student had discovered how to do it in the time he had been gone. Byakuya was after all the only person he knew who had possessed the talent to learn Katsumi's unique, Incantation-less style of utilizing Kido. The runt had even learned Bankai now. A truly magnificent Bankai at that. That Gokei technique Byakuya had used during Katsumi's earlier visit had shredded his own Aigis spell like it was paper. It had nearly been the end of him.

Honestly, he shouldn't have been surprised to see that Byakuya had grown into such a strong young man. The runt had been incredibly talented when he was younger, and horrifically stubborn to boot. When he couldn't grasp a technique right away, he'd simply refused to give up until he had reached the point of mastery. And that stubbornness had clearly paid off. Byakuya had grown up to become a powerful, mature and disciplined man. Katsumi really didn't have the right to call him a runt anymore.

But now wasn't the proper time to reflect on the past. Getting into the Seireitei had been a cakewalk once he'd found and subdued the female Soul Reaper. The giant guarding the eastern gate had let him through without any suspicion whatsoever. The automated alarm hadn't gone off either, so his imitation of the woman's Reiatsu must have been accurate enough.

Even so, it was high time he found a safe place to drop off the grid. He couldn't keep this up forever. The only way to copy another person's Reiatsu was by 'synchronizing' with it when the subject was nearby. If his concentration lapsed for even a second, his Reiatsu emission would go back to normal, and it would be impossible to recreate her unique signature without a template nearby. Considering he'd left the woman all the way back in District 34, he obviously didn't have time to go back and start over.

Besides that, time was working against him. With every second that passed since his synchronizing with the female Soul Reaper, more imperfections would show up in his faked signature. Eventually someone was bound to notice.

He was getting fairly close to the First Division barracks. It would be dangerous to get any closer than this without concealing himself properly. Even if no one else did, Yama-ji would undoubtedly take notice of his discrepant Reiatsu. Maybe if he'd gotten here faster the signature could have fooled him, but it had already degraded too much by now.

As he came close enough to see his assumed destination with his own eyes, he quickly realized what a foolish mistake he'd made.

The First Division's barracks were in the midst of being repaired. Some Shinigami were milling about the premises, but most of the people present were construction workers. Katsumi nearly smacked himself. How could he have missed something so obvious? The last time he'd been here, there had been quite a lot of property damage thanks to the erratic lightning strikes his Shikai produced. He hadn't exactly had the time to check out the building's structural integrity at the time, but he should have at least anticipated a complication such as this.

Now what was he going to do? Clearly Yamamoto wasn't going to be hanging out in the ruins of his own Division at a time like this. So where else could he have gone? There were 12 other Divisions his Squad could have chosen to bunk with, and Katsumi didn't have time to check them all out. His diversion in Karakura probably wouldn't last much longer. If there were that many Captain-class Shinigami in the city, it didn't matter whether they had to fight a dozen Menos or a hundred. Eventually they'd all be wiped out, and if that regiment of powerful Soul Reapers decided to interfere now, it would be instant Game Over for him.

He decided to take a risk. The chance anyone here knew the woman he was impersonating was quite small considering she was from Squad 5. Surely, no one would recognize her by Reiatsu alone. His obviously male voice however  _would_  give him away, so he duck into a nearby alley, got rid of the corset and cushions on his chest, and used his cloak to obscure his face once again. There were quite a few weirdos in the Gotei who preferred to hide their faces, so he doubted this would make him stand out all that much.

He casually walked back up to the construction site. "Excuse me," he spoke to the first Shinigami he came across. It was a respectable-looking older man. As long as you remained polite, these types were usually easy to get along with. "Yes?" the man turned to Katsumi.

"I'm looking for Head Captain Yamamoto. I was asked to deliver a report to him personally."

The man frowned suspiciously at that. Katsumi bit his lip. Clearly this one wouldn't be easy to fool.

"I don't believe I've seen you around before, young man. What Division are you with?"

"The Fifth, sir."

His frown deepened. Katsumi knew he'd made a mistake. "Then tell me, who did you receive this order from? Your Division is without a Captain at the moment is it not?

 _Dammit!_  The Fifth must have been the Division of one of the three traitors. Just his luck. Why couldn't that woman have been in a Squad whose Captain he did know? His severe lack of knowledge on what had occurred during the last century had just bitten him in the ass at the worst possible time.

"Our lieutenant asked me to sir," he continued to lie, essentially digging himself in deeper. "I don't know what the report entails, but I figure it must be important." He was trying very hard not to let his agitation show. Even so, this was probably a lost cause.

The man showed open suspicion now. "I see. Incidentally, what lieutenant would this be?"

Katsumi angrily clenched his jaw. Unbelievable. After going through all the trouble of infiltrating the Seireitei undetected, he was going to be exposed just because he didn't know some Lieutenant's name? He sighed in annoyance. 'No plan survives first contact with the enemy.' Should have remembered that. The First Division member's hand moved to his Zanpakuto. It was a pity, but diplomacy seemed to have failed. Time for plan B then.

Before the older man could call for help, Katsumi waved a hand in front of his face and cast his sleeping spell. The man dropped like a sack of bricks. He never even hit the ground; Katsumi slung him over his shoulder and Flash Stepped away with his captive. All this took less than 2 seconds. With a little luck nobody had noticed, though the missing Shinigami was certain to draw someone's attention eventually.

He brought the man into the same alley from earlier and semi-gently put him down. Another pair of Kido spells served to restrain and wake him up again. The man was understandably confused and frightened when he regained consciousness, but Katsumi really didn't have time to do this the gentle way.

The poor bastard wet himself pretty much instantly when Hyperion's Reiatsu hit him. His inner Hollow could get under the skin of even the toughest, most fearless of men. Even a powerful individual like Grimmjow the Arrancar had been shaking like a leaf under the effects of that vile Spiritual Pressure. Using it against a Shinigami who wasn't even Seated was just plain cruel.

There was no defense against something like this. If you knew what is was you were afraid of, you could either try to block it out or force yourself to man up. Once you became affected by Hyperion's Reiatsu however, no amount of logical thinking could help you. Every single fiber of your being would be infused with the knowledge you would wiped from existence, utterly crushed by overwhelming force with no chance of survival. It invoked a primal sensation of absolute, insurmountable terror.

Katsumi leaned in closer to his captive. The man's breathing was disturbingly irregular; Katsumi could feel the pathetic little puffs of air against his skin. He would probably start hyperventilating soon. Katsumi hoped to end the interrogation before that happened.

"Now then," Katsumi spoke lowly. The man's eyes were darting around wildly, like a cornered animal looking desperately for a way to escape. Putting a firm hand against the man's cheek, Katsumi forced the poor soul to look directly at him. "Where did you say Yama-ji was, again?"

* * *

The Hollow's claws raked over Orihime's shield. It was restricted to using only one arm now, since one of its hands was now occupied with holding the button down. That didn't prove to be much of a handicap though. Sooner or later Orihime would run out of energy and they would all be ripe for the killing.

"Kurosaki-kun, please get away!" she cried out desperately. Unfortunately, that just wasn't something he could do. Ichigo looked down at Grimmjow. The Arrancar's head lolled back like a rag doll's as Ichigo dragged him across the rooftop by his armpits. Grimmjow did his best to stare back at Ichigo. He was fully conscious, and understandably quite agitated by the whole situation.

As it turned out, that blue button didn't serve to deliver a simple electric shock. Ichigo should have known Urahara would never use something that cruel and demeaning. Conversely, Urahara must have known that if Ichigo  _did_  decide to push that button, he would have needed a damn good reason to do so. As such, he had equipped Grimmjow's collar with some sort of paralyzer to instantly and painlessly put him out of commission in case he did go out of control.

Ichigo was doing his best to put some distance between the two of them and the Adjuchas. While they were moving around, Orihime used her shield to keep the Hollow back. She had enlarged it to the point it completely divided the roof into two sections. If it wanted to get at them, the Hollow had no choice but to jump over it. And that was exactly what Orihime hoped it would do. As soon as it was in mid-air and vulnerable, Tsubaki – who was on standby, circling Orihime – would gore and bisect it from within.

Unfortunately, that plan had quickly fallen to pieces. The Adjuchas was intelligent enough to anticipate such an attack, and had absolutely no intention of putting itself at risk. Instead, it had gone with the safer, albeit more time-consuming method of physically tearing Orihime's barrier down.

If they didn't come up with something soon, all three of them were goners. They had to get that damn remote back, or at least destroy it somehow. With Grimmjow back in the mix, this fight would be over in seconds.

"Aah!" Orihime cried out. The Hollow had struck the shield again, and this time visible cracks appeared. She couldn't keep this up much longer. Already she was running on fumes.

Ichigo swore softly, cursing himself for ever letting go of the damn thing. While he was at it, he cursed Urahara too for giving it to him in the first place. What was that crazy shopkeeper doing at a time like this anyway? With the entire town in danger, he could have at least stepped outside his lab for an hour or two to help. For that matter, why wasn't Yoruichi showing up either?

Ichigo stopped moving. They had reached the edge of the roof, and Grimmjow still showed no sign he would be getting back up anytime soon. They were all out of options.  _Except_  for one. Ichigo had been thinking it over, wondering whether it was worth taking the risk. Now that it had come to this he could either try it, or face certain death.

Ichigo saw how Orihime was starting to edge toward their position. If he wanted his plan to work, now was the time do it. "Wait, don't come closer!" he called out to Orihime, checking to see if the Hollow was paying attention. She stopped, clearly confused. "Stay away from us! Don't get too close to this thing!" Ichigo continued. He now had the Hollow's undivided attention; the snake head was peering at him intently. "I don't want you near it if it goes off!"

Orihime looked at him like he'd gone crazy. It was an understandable reaction. After all, she didn't know what Ichigo was planning, so him pointing out the explosive nature of Grimmjow's collar to their enemy would have made anyone question his sanity.

The Adjuchas sniggered, clearly not sharing her concern for Ichigo's mental health. Ichigo thought it was sniggering at least. No matter what the Hollow did, it all sounded more like hissing to him than anything else. "Why thank you, my dear boy, for pointing that out." It casually flipped open the plastic cover over the red button.

Ichigo did his best to look nervous. Honestly, it wasn't that hard to pull off. This was still a pretty major gamble, and their lives were the stakes. All Ichigo could do now was hope his faith in his mentor had not been misplaced.

He looked at Grimmjow again. No doubt the Arrancar would have been slapping him silly if he'd been capable of doing so. Many conflicting emotions were visible in his eyes. Anger was, not unexpectedly, chief among them. Confusion and even a hint of fear were in there too. It felt weird seeing Grimmjow so vulnerable. Ichigo winked at him conspiratorially, hoping to convey his intent. He couldn't help smiling somewhat when Grimmjow looked even more lost. 'Trust me' Ichigo mouthed soundlessly.

Meanwhile, Orhime was desperately trying to get to Ichigo's side in time. When this was over, he was going to have to come up with one hell of an apology for making her worry like that. That is, assuming there was going to be an 'after'. Agonizingly slowly, the Hollow put his finger on the button. It was dragging this out as much as possible, very much enjoying Orihime's desperate attempt to get to Ichigo in time and drag him away from Grimmjow, AKA the Blast Zone.

She cried out his name, deathly afraid and crying almost hysterically. She managed to reach him and grabbed his arm, using all her strength to try and pry him away from Grimmjow. "Kurosaki-kun!" she choked out, "we have to go!"

"No, I'm not leaving him behind!" he replied dramatically. "Go! Save yourself!" That was one hell of a cheesy line, he thought to himself. The Hollow seemed to be eating it all up though.

This was it; the moment of truth. He'd banked it all on his faith in his mentor - rather, on Urahara's faith in him. Not just his own life, but Grimmjow's and even Orihime's as well were at stake here. If Urahara really was the man Ichigo thought him to be, then his plan would be their salvation. If not... well, he really didn't want to think about that possibility.

"ICHIGO!" Orihime shrieked, absolutely beside herself. Grimmjow's eyes widened. The Hollow pushed the button.

Everything went black.


	12. Chapter 12

### Chapter 12: End of an Era

Lately, Grimmjow found, he had been staring death in the face far more often than what he was accustomed to. Sure, he enjoyed the thrill of battle; the rush of adrenaline that came with putting your life on the line.

But even he had his limits.

"You crazy son of a bitch!" he swore loudly at Ichigo as he removed his collar. Was it possible that Kurosaki had known the whole time that the red button was actually an emergency off-switch? Because it sure as shit hadn't seemed that way to Grimmjow.

He was absolutely furious. He would have loved nothing more than to beat the former Soul Reaper within an inch of his life for what he had just put him through. Unfortunately that wasn't going to be happening anytime soon. When the collar was deactivated, Grimmjow's Reiatsu had immediately spiked and Ichigo, being so close-by, had been knocked out instantly when that tremendous force assaulted him. The bastard didn't know how lucky he was to be unconscious.

Grimmjow surveyed the rooftop. Orihime had fallen to her knees right next to him and Ichigo. Even though she was physically fine, she seemed too shocked to get back up after their shared near-death experience. She was making strange little choking sounds, like she had forgotten how to breathe. If he hadn't been so angry, Grimmjow probably would have found it funny.

When he laid eyes on the Hollow responsible for the current state of affairs, Grimmjow almost felt sorry for it.  _Almost._

Rather than trying to process what had happened and thus acknowledging the fact that its situation had turned quite bleak, the Hollow's brain appeared to have simply shut down. Perhaps due to some internal defense mechanism, trying to protect itself from further trauma.

It was still staring at Grimmjow. Still smiling that same victorious – albeit somewhat deranged now – smile. Still repeatedly pushing that button, as if thinking that could somehow reverse what it had done.

Very slowly, Grimmjow's features morphed into a predatory grin. Ichigo had fallen over against him when passing out, so Grimmjow carelessly pushed him off as he stood upright.

The Hollow finally dropped the useless remote and took off.

Grimmjow shot a Bala after it that made its left knee explode.

The scream it let out was positively  _cathartic._ Grimmjow closed his eyes and breathed in deeply, relishing the sound.

The Adjuchas clumsily tried to get back up, its remaining limbs flailing about wildly as it struggled to regain a foothold. While it was preoccupied, Grimmjow utilized Sonido to traverse the entire roof, reclaim Panthera, and reappear by the Hollow's side before it realized he had moved.

Grimmjow noticed that while it should have been bleeding profusely from its demolished leg, its regenerative abilities had already stemmed the flow to nothing but a trickle. Grimmjow remedied that by lopping off two more of its limbs: the other leg, and an arm for variety. That got the blood flowing again.

Grimmjow looked on, rather satisfied, as what was left of the Hollow quickly became dyed in red as it helplessly splashed about in its own blood.

"P-please," it sputtered with its tongue flicking out, "I beg you- please- kill me..."

Grimmjow couldn't help himself- he grinned even wider. Any more and his face was going to get stuck like that. "You know what?" he asked the Hollow, wrapping a hand around its thin neck and lifting it up to eye-level, "I think I will." Effortlessly, he spun the pathetic lump of meat around in a circle over his head.

He let go and watched it sail through the air in a perfect arc, leaving a trail of blood behind underneath it as it flew.

There was but a single structure on the otherwise flat and featureless rooftop: a small building with a door that led directly to a stairwell going down into the apartment complex itself. When it came back down, the Hollow smashed into said building - and stayed pinned against it when Grimmjow launched Panthera after it to pierce through its remaining hand and into the wall.

The Espada calmly walked up to his mutilated, broken and pathetically weeping prey. He gently took hold of its chin and made it look up at him. In that same gentle, serene manner he said: "I never said I was gonna kill you quickly though." When Grimmjow saw the devastated, utterly hopeless look in the creature's eyes upon realizing it wouldn't even be granted the mercy of a swift and relatively painless death, he was satisfied. This seemed like just about enough of a punishment for what it had done to him. Well... maybe just a little more.

He took a few steps back from the Hollow, who was now frantically trying to escape, or regrow its lost limbs, or even kill itself and end its own suffering, hell, to do  _anything_ really, and raised his arm. "Cero."

The red death ray blew a hole right through the tiny structure, but did not so much as graze the Hollow. Yet.

Agonizingly slowly, Grimmjow raised his palm further. The Hollow screamed as it saw the beam eating through the solid brick wall and inching closer toward the bloody stumps that had once been its thighs. The screams grew louder when the Cero made contact, and its flesh began to burn, then melt, and finally disintegrate. It was interesting really, Grimmjow thought whimsically, to hear how its wailing grew steadily louder and more rabid as he worked his way through its upper thighs, pelvis and intestines, and then quickly faded away into nothing once he reached the heart and lungs.

Somewhat quicker than Grimmjow would have liked, it drew its last breath. He stopped channeling the Cero and walked up to the desecrated remains. All that was left of it was its right arm and part of its neck, held together by a strip of flesh. The head was completely gone; once the beam had gotten close enough, The Hollow had quickly taken the opportunity to off itself by diving into it face-first. Grimmjow pulled Panthera out, wiped the blade off on the corpse, and sheathed it. He would make sure to clean it properly once he got back.

As a final act of contempt, rather than destroying the remains himself or simply leaving them there, he picked them up and threw them into the swirling mass of Hollows above, who eagerly ripped them apart and devoured them.

Punishment meted out, Grimmjow returned his attention to what were supposed to be his wardens. He couldn't help it. Seeing the woman all pale and horrified over what he'd just done made him laugh. Their eyes met for just an instant, but Orihime quickly turned away and continued her dry-heaving. He couldn't tell whether she was afraid of him or just plain disgusted. Either was fine with him really.

Kurosaki on the other hand still showed no signs of movement. Grimmjow grunted with annoyance.

What was he going to do with the brat? Grimmjow really wasn't in the mood to carry him all the way back like some god damned mule. On the other hand, he couldn't very well leave him here either. With all the Hollows still around he'd get eaten in a second. Grimmjow did still owe him, as much as he loathed to admit it.

Then again, weren't they even now? He  _had_ just saved Kurosaki's life. Grimmjow ran a hand through his hair as he considered just ditching Ichigo and returning to Hueco Mundo by himself. Without the collar, he was free to leave whenever he wanted. He looked at Orihime again. Why couldn't that damn woman make herself useful for a change? She could carry Kurosaki's stupid ass back, couldn't she? Well... she probably could, but then she wouldn't be able to defend herself if they came under attack along the way, he quickly realized. God- _dammit_ , humans were so useless.

"My, my," an annoying, painfully familiar voice interrupted Grimmjow's musings. "Quite a scene we have here."

Grimmjow turned to face the new arrival, instantly on alert and above all, pissed off. "What are  _you_ doing here?" he sneered. He was two seconds away from drawing Panthera and permanently wiping that stupid look off the man's face.

Hirako Shinji just smiled wider when he saw Grimmjow getting defensive, revealing a set of teeth like piano keys. "I heard from Tessai that Ichigo and you had decided to team up. With all the crazy Reiatsu coming from this direction, I found myself a little worried. Decided I should come see what all the fuss was about, you know?" The leader of the Visored calmly looked over the rooftop, seeing Ichigo lying unconscious at Grimmjow's feet, Orihime on her knees, coughing and dry-heaving, and the slowly disintegrating, meager remains of what had once been a Hollow's limbs.

Innocent though he may be, Grimmjow figured there probably wasn't any point in trying to convince Hirako of that. After what happened during their last encounter, why should the man bother listening to Grimmjow?

They both drew their swords in the same instant. Grimmjow hated to admit it, but if this escalated into a serious fight, he might be in trouble. Hirako had already proven he was a lot stronger than he looked. Neither of them had gone all-out last time though, so it wasn't as if the outcome was already decided beforehand. Anything could happen in a battle, after all...

**XXX**

Orihime couldn't just sit by and let disaster unfold. If those two seriously went at it, the entire building - no, the entire block would be destroyed. The people around her always seemed oddly uncaring about collateral damage.

"It's alright, Hirako-san," she interrupted, putting an end to their stand-off before it got out of hand. "Grimmjow-san saved us." Her face still had a rather unhealthy-looking, ashen coloration.

Very slowly, Hirako lowered his sword. He was very clearly keeping his guard up however, and wouldn't take his eyes off Grimmjow. "Orihime-chan, are you sure you're alright?"

On wobbly legs, she carefully stood up. "I'm fine, thank you. Just a little... nauseous." She threw Grimmjow a look that wasn't  _quite_ angry, and walked over to Ichigo to put him in a more comfortable position. She did her best to avoid looking in Grimmjow's direction again; after what she'd just witnessed him do, she'd rather not be anywhere near the Arrancar for a while. What had happened with Loly and Menoly had been brutal too, but at least that hadn't been a needlessly drawn-out torture session.

"Ichigo should be okay too," she continued, taking off her uniform jacket and placing it under the teen's head so he had something soft to lay on. "He was just knocked out by Grimmjow's Reiatsu earlier. He's not injured." After making sure everything really was as it should be, she got up again and dusted herself off.

"I don't mean to be rude, Hirako-san, but why did it take so long for you to get here?" Orihime asked, trying not to sound accusatory. "We really could have used the Visored's help earlier on. Protecting the entire city with so little people just isn't possible," she trailed off. In the heat of the action, she hadn't thought too much about it, but with so many Hollows around there were bound to be some victims, both living and dead.

Shinji gave an apologetic look. "Sorry for taking our time like that. We were... distracted by something."

Orihime was pretty sure she knew what he meant. "Takahashi's Reiatsu." Judging from Shinji's startled expression, she'd hit the nail on the head.

Although he had clearly been surprised that she knew about that, it didn't take him long to recover. "You're really something, Orihime-chan," he chuckled, smiling at her. "I hadn't even realized it was him, myself. His Reiatsu was so distorted by his Hollowfication that I never would have recognized it. Rose and Hacchi made the connection," he explained. Somewhat wistfully he added: "And if that guy was around, then all of us going out into the open unprepared would have been suicidal."

He scanned the surrounding area, and Orihime realized he was looking at his comrades who had now joined the fray. "Doesn't look like he's still here though. Pretty sure we'd have noticed by now if he was."

That was something that had been bothering Orihime; why would Takahashi do all this if he was just going to run off again? It didn't make any sense, especially considering the rogue Shinigami had no interest in the world of the living to begin with. According to Urahara at least. Was he perhaps doing this in an attempt to get rid of the people allied with Urahara? They  _had_ been giving him a rather rough time over the past few days. Then again, he should know that regular Hollows, no matter how many he sent after them, wouldn't be able to kill people on their level. So the question remained: why do all this?

Orihime gasped when she realized the truth. How had she not figured it out earlier? "This is all just a distraction!"

Grimmjow's head snapped in her direction. "What? What are you talking about?"

In her momentary panic, Grimmjow's actions from earlier were pushed to the back of her mind. "Takahashi wouldn't attack this city for no reason," she hurriedly explained to the confused Arrancar. "While we were fighting, he must have made his move! We have to warn Soul Society- if it's not too late already!"

She froze when Hirako firmly laid a hand on her shoulder; how he had gotten so close without her noticing was a mystery to her. She hadn't even seen him start to move. "Calm down, Orihime. Urahara already came to the same conclusion."

"Then the shopkeeper went after him?" Grimmjow asked. He still had his sword out, but at least he wasn't pointing it at Shinji anymore.

Shinji nodded in response. He had already sheathed his own blade. "He contacted us when the invasion began. He left for Hueco Mundo with Yoruichi."

That explained why the two hadn't come to help. "Why Hueco Mundo?" Orihime pressed Shinji. "Are they still looking for whatever it is he hid there? Shouldn't they be going after him directly instead?"

Shinji snorted humorlessly. "Good luck finding him. He's a Kido master, you know? If he doesn't want to be found, he won't be. Especially in a place as crowded as Soul Society. He'll blend right in."

Orihime realized she'd shown her naïve side again. While she was far from unintelligent, she often didn't think things through enough before taking action. Aizen had not hesitated to take advantage of that shortcoming during the war.

"Well, I should probably go help finishing this up," Shinji spoke with a distinct lack of enthusiasm, looking up at the noticeably thinned-out swarm of Hollows above. Addressing Orihime and Grimmjow, he asked: "what are you two going to do?"

"I'd like to help out, but I should probably stay with Ichigo for now," Orihime mused aloud. She was about to say that she would look after him until he regained consciousness when Grimmjow took the matter out of her hands.

To her and Shinji's immense confusion, Grimmjow put his sword away, calmly walked over to Ichigo, picked him up without saying a word, and slung him over his shoulder in a perfect fireman's carry. Almost serenely, like this was something he did every day, he started to walk away from them.

"W- what do you think yer doing?!" the former captain snapped out of his stupor, stepping in to block Grimmjow's path.

Grimmjow just flashed him a cocky grin. "You heard the woman. Can't leave Sleeping Beauty here behind, all on his lonesome. I thought I'd be a  _nice guy_  and bring his useless ass home."

The ridiculously exaggerated (and obviously fake) tone in which he spoke the words 'nice guy' almost made Orihime shudder.

"Bullshit!" Shinji exclaimed, saying what Orihime was thinking, but was too reserved to vocalize.

"Don't worry about the princess," Grimmjow waved him off, still smirking in an obvious attempt to antagonize Hirako, but adopting a more serious tone. He made a shrugging motion, repositioning the unconscious teen a bit. "I won't do anything to him. Besides, it'll get me out of dealing with you," Grimmjow added happily in a mocking, sugary sweet tone, revealing the real reason behind his sudden concern for Ichigo's well-being.

Obviously, that wasn't about to fly with Shinji. The man was about to resort to more drastic measures, and Orihime knew this could quickly turn ugly for everyone involved if tensions rose.

"Wait! It's alright," she attempted to defuse the situation.

The disbelief on his face was clearly humorous to Grimmjow, who shamelessly began to laugh at Shinji. "Whaddaya mean it's alright?!" he barked at Orihime. "We're talking about a freakin' Espada here! Yer just gonna leave Ichigo alone with 'im?!"

"I know, I know!" she quickly spoke, holding up her hands. "But Grimmjow isn't lying; he won't hurt him. I know he wont," she added, trying to convince herself of that as much as she was trying to convince Shinji.

The Visored started sputtering in protest, but she decided to ignore him. "Please bring him back to Urahara's safely," she addressed Grimmjow. "I'll follow once we're done dealing with this. Don't let anything happen to him, Grimmjow-san."

"Yeah, yeah," the man muttered, roughly pushing Shinji aside as he moved to the edge of the roof. He leaned forward a bit, getting ready to use Sonido. Before he took off, he grinned saucily at Shinji again. To Orihime, it looked more like he was baring his teeth at the Visored. Then, with a low hum, he just seemed to wink out of existence, taking Ichigo with him.

Orihime and Shinji looked at the place they had disappeared for a few moments. "Are ya sure this is alright?" Shinji asked eventually.

Orihime sighed softly. "Honestly? I'm trying very hard not to think about it. Let's just hurry up and see if we're needed anywhere. I'd like to get back as soon as possible."

* * *

Meanwhile, in Soul Society:

Yamamoto stepped into his temporary office in Squad 2's barracks. Captain Soi Fon had graciously lent him and his officers whatever chambers her Division could spare. While the room was rather on the small side and quite dusty after years of being used as storage space, it was serviceable.

The Head Captain was having a long and difficult day. They were still dealing with the aftereffects of Katsumi's attack, so any additional complications were quite unwelcome at the moment. As such, the Hollow invasion currently underway in Karakura was something he really could have done without. Fortunately there were plenty of capable combatants already there, so Soul Society's intervention had not been required.

Moreover, he'd received some good news this morning: Captain Kurotsuchi had regained consciousness thanks to his Lieutenant's treatment. The Gotei had many skilled healers among its ranks, but those two were special cases - in more ways than one. Only the two Kurotsuchis knew how their bodies worked.

As soon as he'd woken up, Mayuri had a message sent to Yamamoto: the details of how he had negated Katsumi's lighting.

There was a fairly simple trick to it: electricity always followed the path of least resistance. Katsumi's Shikai worked by infusing thunderclouds with his own Reiatsu. This Reiatsu then trickled downward, effectively creating a pathway toward the ground for the lightning to flow through. All that Mayuri had done when he was being targeted was extend said pathway by manipulating his own Reiatsu, creating a more efficient route for the electricity than through his body. In essence, he had turned himself into a humanoid lightning rod. Yamamoto was somewhat disappointed in himself for not having worked out the mechanics himself.

Now came the real problem. That Hollow invasion had come at a very convenient time. Too convenient. It was obvious from the start that it was nothing but a distraction to keep Urahara and the Visored busy. There was only one person who could possibly stand to gain from such an act.

The oldest Captain directed his gaze to a seemingly inconspicuous area in between a bookshelf and a potted plant. "Come on out. I know you're there," he muttered gruffly.

Katsumi snickered softly to himself as he dispelled his camouflage. "Figured that wouldn't work."

"Of course it didn't," Yamamoto huffed, sounding annoyed. "Compared to Sousuke Aizen's Complete Hypnosis, that concealing Kido is just a petty magic trick."

Katsumi stared intently at Yamamoto, not offering a reply. It remained silent while the two sides inspected one another. 

"Why are you here?" Yamamoto eventually asked. "Surely you don't intend to fight me in this small, dusty office?"

"Obviously not," Katsumi calmly replied as he strode over to Yamamoto's desk and leaned against it. "I have a proper battleground already waiting. I prepared it specifically for this fight." The younger man smiled as he watched the gears in Yamamoto's head turning. He had almost literally told him that a trap was about to be sprung, yet Yamamoto's stubborn pride would never allow him to turn tail and flee from his own military's barracks.

One corner of Katsumi's mouth crooked up, just a bit – he had him right where he wanted him, and they both knew it. "Before we get into the good stuff though, I wanted to talk to you for a bit."

Keeping his eyes firmly locked on Katsumi, Yamamoto closed the door. The last thing either of them wanted was for a random person walking down the hallway to spot the rogue Shinigami and initiate a battle within the barracks. The collateral damage would be horrific.

"Let us talk then," Yamamoto answered, adopting a more relaxed stance. Naturally he maintained the utmost of caution, but at least he was sure that there would be no sneak attacks or other underhanded measures. Not yet, at least. "I find myself curious as to your sudden change in style." He gestured to Katsumi's hair, which had been dyed black. "Is that how you fooled the gatekeeper? I believe that is a woman's uniform you're wearing though." His gaze lingered now on the suspiciously loose-hanging robes near Katsumi's chest area. "It must have been a thorough disguise. A shame I did not get to see the final result."

The desk made noticeable creaking sounds as Katsumi involuntarily tensed up and nearly crushed the wood between his fingers. Yamamoto was pleased to see he still knew how to get under the younger man's skin, even after all this time.

Katsumi pushed off against the desk, coming just a little closer. "Don't stall. I have just a single question for you Yama-ji." The tension in the room noticeably spiked. Finally, they had come to the main issue. The reason behind everything Katsumi had done over the last few days.

"Why," Katsumi demanded, unable to completely prevent his voice from shaking, "did you try to kill me?"

Yamamoto slowly let out a heavy sigh. It was as if all the weariness he had accumulated from over a millennium of being Head Captain had been infused in it. "I... never wanted to kill you." The rogue Shinigami appeared stunned when he heard the hesitation in his voice. It did not happen often that a crack showed in that impenetrable armor.

"I was foolish," Yamamoto angrily continued. "A hundred and twenty years ago, when the Seireitei was besieged by Vasto Lorde, you decided to trust me with your secret. You revealed your Hollow abilities in the knowledge that they would allow us to hasten the end of the conflict. Many of our soldiers' lives were spared because of that."

Yamamoto briefly looked away. "After seeing what you were capable of, I believed we could use your powers to infiltrate Hueco Mundo. We would have been able to strike directly at the Hollows' homeworld, possibly even ending the eternal conflict between them and us." His brow tensed as he adopted a sterner look. "For eight years, I kept this to myself. In those eight years, 422 Shinigami were killed and consumed by Hollows. After that, I could not remain silent any longer. I went to the Council of 46, convinced they would share my views. Surely they would have realized what an enormous advantage this could be for us?"

"I could not have been more wrong," he bit out. His hand clenched around his staff. "Those fools only saw what was right in front of them, never even considering the idea," he spat bitterly. "Not only did they question my capabilities as a commander, they demanded I rectify the problem immediately."

He finally looked at Katsumi again. Sincere regret was visible in those ancient eyes. "All my protests were overruled. You were ordered to be put to death immediately and without trial. I am truly sorry." It had been a black day for Soul Society. Not only had they lost their greatest opportunity yet to deal a crushing blow to the Hollows, they had lost one of their most powerful fighters as well.

At first, it looked like the rogue had gone completely catatonic by what had just been revealed to him. Then, his Reiatsu started to rise threateningly.

"You..." he grit out from between clenched teeth. "I thought you'd just wanted to get rid of me because you though I was too dangerous. That my Hollow side made me a ticking time bomb. But you revealed my abilities to those corrupt, close-minded senile old bastards because you thought they'd see the value in them?!" he roared, face twisted by rage.

"How long have you worked for those incompetent bigots, Yama-ji? You of all people should have seen their answer coming!" The wooden floor and furniture began to smolder as arcs of electricity jumped between them and Katsumi's body.

Yamamoto picked up his staff and let it revert back to its sword form. The moment of truth had finally arrived. "I did know. However, considering the tremendous potential benefits, I was obligated to try if there was even the slightest chance of success."

The floor beneath Katsumi's feet caught fire. No doubt everyone in the barracks had sensed his presence by now. "Then even though you knew it would happen, you still decided to execute their sentence?!" Yamamoto registered the distinct smell of ozone as Katsumi's Reiatsu electrified the air. "You could have warned me beforehand! You could have given me a chance to escape! But no! You just groveled at their feet like usual and stabbed me in the back!"

The full force of his Reiatsu slammed into Yamamoto. The old man's eyes widened for a moment when he underwent its effects; a terrible, primal sensation of fear that rapidly spread throughout his body, like ice running through his veins. While it wouldn't impair his abilities in the least thanks to his own immense Reiatsu, Yamamoto found himself wondering. Spiritual Pressure alone should not have such an effect on him. Not even when his opponent was someone close to his own level. He had seen far too much combat to let himself be intimidated by anyone. Was this also an ability granted to him by his Hollow side?

"I've heard enough. We're finishing this right now!" Katsumi slammed his free hand down on the floor, and a tear in reality split apart the wooden floorboards.

Having no intention of falling into a Garganta, Yamamoto quickly jumped away. Katsumi however, had of course known he would try to evade.

The ceiling was blown to splinters as a hundred glowing bars rained down on Yamamoto. ' _He set up a Hyapporankan as a booby trap?'_  The old man did not have much time to ponder how he had managed that.

Dodging the spell at that point would have been difficult, but there was no real need for Yamamoto to do so. Hyapporankan was just a mid-level Bakudo. It wouldn't do any damage, and Yamamoto could free himself of it easily enough.

It did however put a stop to his momentum, and gave Katsumi the extra second he needed. "Strike, Raiden!" he called out as he jumped upward as well, raising his blade high. Electricity surged along its length, all that power being directed into a small sphere of neon green plasma at the tip. Katsumi brought the sword down, and the orb of crackling fury was released, heading straight for Yamamoto.

The Head Captain countered by wordlessly releasing Ryuujin Jakka, the clash between flame and lightning causing an explosion that destroyed what was left of the tiny office. He had remained unharmed, but Katsumi had achieved his goal. The force of the blast slung him down into the black void beneath, and the portal closed behind him as soon as he was through.

Seeing the light above him vanish as he fell into the black depths, Yamamoto bit out a curse. It had been a simple, perfectly executed trap, and he had been caught in it. As he tumbled through the dark space between worlds, Yamamato decided to prepare for what came next. He turned himself around, his Haori falling off his shoulders and disappearing into the nothingness as he did so. Whatever awaited him on the other side would not be easy to overcome. Clenching Ryuujin Jakka's hilt, he launched himself into the abyss. If he arrived first, then he would have the advantage.

Katsumi had been right. This would indeed end today.

* * *

Near Las Noches' outer wall:

Urahara realized he might have been enjoying himself a little too much given the situation. He just couldn't help himself. It wasn't every day you got the chance to personally examine a powerful, ancient spell such as this one.

Finally, they had discovered what Takahashi had been hiding so desperately. Urahara had almost felt disappointed. After all the trouble Takahashi had gone through to keep it hidden earlier on, now he used a third-rate cloaking field as its one and only defense?

In the vast shadow cast by Las Noches' dome lay a massive slab of white, smooth stone. Five tablets stood along its edge in a circular pattern. It was one of the Kido Corps' greatest inventions – a spell capable of eternally imprisoning any Shinigami, no matter how powerful they may be.

The Seal of Izanagi.

Urahara let his hands wander over the smooth surface of one of the tablets as he examined the complicated inscriptions on its surface.

"How the hell did he even move this?" Yoruichi complained aloud as she walked along the edge of the stone. She was on the lookout in case Katsumi returned. If he'd left it this poorly-guarded, he would undoubtedly be coming back soon. "It's easily ten meters across and weighs a ton! I don't see that skinny bastard lifting it over his head."

"Perhaps he has a way to make it levitate," Urahara suggested absently. "Or he really did carry it over his head. He looks rather muscular when he's using his Resurrection." He backtracked to the one he'd identified as the primary tablet earlier. Izanagi's Seal was an incredibly sophisticated spell. You had to admire the Kido corps' talent for creating something like this.

Each of the tablets carried its own set of instructions. The combined effect of all five was to create an indestructible cage, formed by warping the very fabric of space and bending the flow of time to one's liking. Even so, that man had managed to escape. Not just that, but he'd even managed to recreate his former prison. Urahara wondered if he could take that to mean Takahashi had somehow remained conscious while trapped within the original Seal, and had studied its inner workings from the inside. That in and of itself should have already been impossible.

The primary tablet was the spell's ignition key, the one that would start the entire chain reaction. Without it, the rest of the spell would be useless. He had to find a way to destroy it, and fast.

Tessai's knowledge would have been invaluable here, but protecting the citizens of Karakura came first. With all the defensive spells Tessai had at his disposal, he was far more suited to such a task than Urahara was.

"Now then," he muttered to himself, "how am I going to dismantle this thing?" Brute force simply wasn't an option. You could not mess with spells that dealt with space-time and expect to walk away from it. Carelessly damaging them could unbalance the very fabric of reality, with disastrous consequences.

Still, he had to hurry. At any moment now, Takahashi could-

"Kisuke!" Before he had time to react in any way, Yoruichi already slammed into him at top speed, knocking the wind out of him. They sailed through the air – one more gracefully than the other – and landed in the sand a fair distance away. Yoruichi quickly put him down again. It was a good thing she had remained vigilant. He had been so absorbed in studying the tablet that he hadn't noticed the Garganta opening up above him.

The creator of the sealing array stood before them then, wearing an expression close to panic. "What did you do?!" Takahashi furiously demanded. He raised his blade over his head, charging up another arc bomb at the tip. His face contorted with rage. If the Seal had been sabotaged, then this would be the end for him.

Urahara and Yoruichi both prepared to fight back, but the appearance of another Garganta spared them the trouble.

The Head Captain himself came falling out of the tear in space, landing smack-dab in the center of the Seal. The exact second he touched down, it activated on its own. The primary tablet lit up, making Urahara's hair stand on end from the massive release of energy. In a matter of milliseconds, a transparent blue dome formed over the stone slab, and Takahashi and Yamamoto were locked in on top of the platform.

Looking relieved, Takahashi let out a breathy laugh and lowered his blade. The crackling orb of plasma at its tip fizzled out. "Looks like you didn't have enough time to sabotage it, Urahara Kisuke."

Urahara lowered his cane, knowing there was nothing he could do to interfere at this point. "I admit, I had quite a hard time with it. If you'd given me five more minutes, I believe I may have gotten somewhere."

"Enough talking," Yamamoto interrupted their conversation. "You and I both know that my time is limited. Now that you've gone so far as to use Izanagi, you leave me with no choice but to destroy you utterly."

Due to the nature of the spell, the conflict would turn heavily in Takahashi's favor if he waited any longer. The oldest Captain was forced to unleash his full power from the get-go. "Bankai," the ancient commander spoke gravely, the word alone striking fear into the two observers. "Zanka no Tachi."

Urahara and Yoruichi looked at each other with near identical, shocked expressions. The Head Captain's second stage release may not have been as flashy as some others, but that sure didn't stop it from being intimidating as hell.

The flames vanished. In the old man's hand, he now held a charred, brittle looking blade. That frail appearance belied the monstrous power it contained. One slash from that thing and you were done for. It didn't just kill, it erased its enemies from existence.

Once again accompanied by flashes of purple lightning, Takahashi transformed into his Hollow form in an attempt to stand up to Yamamoto's full power – but something was clearly different this time.

Wings.

While they looked terribly deformed and could not possibly be used for flight, that was undeniably what they were. They emerged from just below his shoulder blades, looking far too thick and heavy to be practical, and would have easily spanned three meters when stretched out fully. They were stark white, leathery, and sported similar black markings to the rest of Takahashi's Hollowfied body. They too were enveloped in a shroud of plasma. Urahara was very curious as to how exactly that lightning armor worked.

"Your powers are still evolving?" Yamamoto asked when he laid eyes on the new appendages.

It was hard to be sure, but Urahara was pretty sure Takahashi was smiling underneath his mask. "I learned some new tricks, Yama-ji. Just for you," he replied in that distorted tone.

"How flattering," the old man countered dryly. In the next moment he launched himself at his opponent, bringing down Zanka no Tachi to not simply bisect him, but blow away his entire midsection.

In response, Takahashi's wings seemed to bend the wrong way, overlapping and covering his front like a massive organic shield. Yamamoto's blade cut through them like a very hot knife through molten butter. A perfectly straight cut split both of the appendages into two halves, almost all the way to their base. By quickly extending the injured wings and pushing forward, Takahashi forced his adversary to back off again.

Going by what he had just witnessed, Urahara figured those wings must serve a solely defensive purpose. When up against Zanka No Tachi however, they may as well have been made of paper mache for all the good they had done, he thought.

"As insanely powerful as ever," Takahashi muttered to himself as he observed his slashed wings. The rest of him was still in one piece: the wings had at least managed to maintain enough distance between Yamamoto and himself for the blade to fall short of his vital areas. Rather than blood, white liquid came pouring from the wounded areas.

Yoruichi had already told him about this after the fight in the Seireitei, but this was the first time Urahara personally saw Katsumi's regenerative ability in action. She had told him he was capable of rapidly healing minor injuries, with more severe ones taking a long time. That description did not do justice to what he was witnessing here right now.

The liquid bubbled intensely like boiling water, splashing about and forming sticky web-like threads in between the severed parts of the wings. Following that, the flaps of wing were pulled back together, missing tissue was regrown at absurd rates, and then the white froth receded again. In a span of three seconds, all traces of damage had vanished.

"That's cheating! He couldn't do it that fast before!" Yoruichi blurted out.

Urahara carefully analyzed Takahashi's transformed appearance. He had only caught a glimpse of it once before, when Takahashi had nearly broken into his lab through the open Garganta. It had only been for a second, but Urahara had seen the mask quite clearly. It had had just a single purple marking on it back then.

Now, there were three. Two lines leading to the lowest spikes on his mask - the ones following his jawline - and another line that ran along a spike at eye-height, on the left side of his face. Each line ran from the tip of the spike to the nearest eye-hole, at which point they spread out more, giving off the impression that he had on eye shadow. The effect involuntarily reminded Urahara of Grimmjow, with the blue marks on the young man's face.

Two new marks, did that mean he'd obtained two more powers? Faster regeneration and the wings for defense? He said he'd 'learned new tricks', plural. Question was, were those really the only two?

"Grow as many extra body parts as you wish," Yamamoto huffed, seeming unimpressed. "They won't help you against my blade. I suggest you grow another head, to help you realize your folly." He got ready to strike again. "Zanka No Tachi: North," he began. "Tenchi Kai-" The dome shifted from blue to fiery red as the second tablet activated.

Yamamoto's technique was interrupted as his blade burst into flames once more.

Everyone save for Takahashi seemed quite surprised by this new development. "He reverted to his Shikai? But why?" Yoruichi asked.

"It's the second tablet," Urahara answered. "It interferes with the link between Shinigami and Zanpakuto. It shouldn't have activated this quickly though."

At first, Yamamoto remained completely motionless. Clearly, he too hadn't counted on losing his Bankai this early on in the fight. "I see now," he slowly spoke. "This is why you invaded Soul Society so recklessly the first time around. You needed my Reiatsu to prepare the Seal. To speed up its activation sequence."

"Bingo," Katsumi assented. He put his left arm forward. "There was plenty of it in here after you hit me with that fireball." While he spoke, the third tablet already lit up.

Both combatants appeared to sink into the ground from Urahara's point of view. Upon closer inspection, he saw that a good chunk of the stone slab had begun to lower. The five tablets along with the outer edge of the circle stayed where they were. It stopped moving at about half a meter of depth, making it look like the two were now standing in a big, empty swimming pool made of stone.

Yoruichi fidgeted somewhat nervously. "Can't we do anything, Kisuke?"

"No. There's no way to get inside the Seal. Those two are effectively in a separate dimension now."

Yoruichi looked at the two men again. "But they're right there! Even if we can't break through ourselves, aren't there other options? Light and sound seem to get through just fine."

He shook his head. "What we're seeing and hearing are projections. It's like a TV screen. We can only see and hear them because the Kido corps specifically added that function. Otherwise, they themselves would not know what happened on the inside."

He turned to face her. "There is something else you can do though. The other captains have to be alerted to this. If Takahashi wins, we'll need back-up if we want to take him down."

She hesitated. "What if he wins before I get back?"

"Then I'm sure I'll manage somehow." Reassuringly, he smiled at her. "Besides, I doubt you'll take  _too_  long. Or do they just hand out titles like 'Goddess of Flash' to everyone these days?" he teased slyly.

Yoruichi barked out a laugh. "I'm gonna make you eat those words, Kisuke. I'll be back before you have time to regret ever saying them." She grinned mischievously. As she prepared to leave, she gently put a hand on his shoulder. "Don't do anything crazy while I'm gone, you hear me?" she said seriously, before taking off in the direction of the Garganta with a burst of Shunpo. Urahara smiled as he watched her disappear behind a dune.

For now, he would just continue to watch the battle. During their exchange, two more sections of the platform had lowered. The Seal was starting to look like a miniature amphitheater, and the two combatants were forced to jump around in order to utilize all available space.

Urahara could see where this was going. The pair clashed violently numerous times, but Yamamoto never did enough damage to put Takahashi out of commission. With just his Shikai, he was doomed to run out of time. Takahashi's defenses were too strong for Yamamoto to deal a decisive blow. Not in so little time. In just a few more minutes, the fourth tablet would activate, and then this match would be all but decided.

Urahara just hoped the old man held out long enough for backup to get here.

Realizing his back was to the wall, Yamamoto decided to switch strategies. His only chance of winning was to throw all caution to the wind, and just hit his opponent with everything he could realistically throw at him.

Physical attacks were clearly out: the lightning armor covering Takahashi would ensure Yamamoto himself would receive damage with every hit, and _he_ couldn't regenerate. Shunpo had limited uses here. The arena was too small, and the terrain too uneven for it to be used reliably. A sneak attack was doomed to fail.

That left him with just Kido and his Shikai's abilities. For a man with over a millennium of combat experience, that was plenty.

"Hado 77: Soren Sokatsui!" Yamamoto bellowed. The blue flames exploded from his palm, intent on consuming everything in their path. They crashed into their target, engulfing him in a sea of fire.

The Head Captain closed in, calling out "Taimatsu!" as another, much more powerful flame from his sword blew away the first one. Urahara heard a pained grunt, and a massive, burning white wing emerged from the whirling inferno. It soared up to the roof of the dome, where the hellfire consumed it and left nothing but ashes.

Then, Yamamoto jumped backwards, launching another stream of flames from his blade while in the air. Takahashi brought up his remaining wing to bear the brunt of the attack, even as the other one began to regrow.

"Sajo Sabaku!" As soon as Yamamoto landed he sent golden, glowing chains after Takahashi that ensnared him and folded his own wing around him like wrapping paper. Not done yet, Yamamato prepared to launch his finisher: "Hado 91: Senjukotentaiho!"

The entire sequence of events happened so fast Urahara barely had time to be impressed. Despite being cast with no incantation, the spell still held a frightening amount of power. Multiple purple comets formed out of thin air and homed in on their target. As they gathered in one focal point right beside Takahashi's chest, Urahara realized it would probably be wise to close his eyes.

A terrible scream resounded from within the dome. Even with his eyes firmly shut, the spell's furious light made Urahara see a burning red haze. By all rights, nothing should be left of him after getting hit by that point-blank.

As the light died down, Urahara opened his eyes again. The entire dome was now filled with thick, black smoke. No sound emerged from it. And then, the tables turned.

"Oh no." Another light cut through the black cloud. It wasn't anywhere near the intensity of the earlier explosion, but felt more... ominous, somehow. Following the light's appearance, the smoke in the dome began to circulate rapidly. Something at the bottom of the Seal was sucking it in.

Once the tablets became visible again, Urahara's suspicion was confirmed: the fourth one was lit. That meant that the prison had been unlocked, and it was eager to receive its next guest.

Yamamoto jumped to the highest level of the Seal, getting as far away from the eerie light at its center as he could. This proved quite difficult, as the Seal was trying its hardest to suck him in. He grabbed on to one of the Tablets for support.

As the smoke swirled into the vortex beneath, the one who'd fallen victim to the spell from earlier became visible once more. Urahara almost couldn't believe he was still in one piece – more or less.

Breathing in heavily, Takahashi slowly pushed himself up off the floor. There was still smoke coming from his body. All that was left of his wings were sad little stumps on his back. They had stopped regenerating. 'Burnt' didn't even begin to describe the state of his chest area. The upper part of his sternum was exposed and charred pitch black. The skin around it had melted and then hardened again, leaving an ugly, deformed wound. Unlike the remains of his wings, that injury was slowly healing.

"I'm... impressed, Yama-ji." Takahashi grit out with considerable effort. His breaths were shallow. Five purple markings now decorated his mask, glowing intensely. "You even... forced Hyperion to get off his ass and help me." The formerly black markings on his body were now radiating that same purple light. The ones on his chest were brightest of all.

Most likely, those marking had reinforced his Hierro somehow, Urahara deduced. He couldn't possibly have survived otherwise. Before Urahara had a chance to properly observe the phenomenon, they went back to normal. The two new lines on his mask vanished as well, with the remaining three going dull.

"Again in the chest," Katsumi muttered. His hand came to rest beside his Hollow hole. "Right here it was. You remember it, I hope? When you stabbed me from behind with that blade?" he gestured at Ryuujin Jakka, still burning intensely in Yamamoto's hand, squeezed between his palm and the tablet. "I certainly do. The sensation of your own spinal cord melting is one you don't forget easily."

"I apologize," Yamamoto spoke, "I would have gone for the head, but you might have dodged."

Takahashi chuckled weakly at that. "Alas, our time is almost up. Any last words?"

"Don't do this, Katsumi," the old man replied forcefully. He was straining to hang on to the tablet now. Only he appeared to be affected by the vortex's drain. "Sealing me away will have consequences you can't even begin to imagine! Stop this foolishness!"

"Ah, but I  _can_ imagine," he admonished, wagging his index finger at Yamamoto. "With you gone, a new Commander will have to be appointed. Since Ukitake is ill, the position will undoubtedly go to Shunsui instead." He narrowed his eyes. "Shunsui won't bend over backwards whenever Central 46 asks him to, like you always did. With him in charge and you – Soul Society's history personified – gone, there  _will_ be changes."

"Then this is not just revenge on me, but on Central 46 as well? For their involvement in Watanabe Aoi's death?" Yamamoto shook his head sadly, seeming to emanate all the weariness he'd accumulated over his two-thousand-year lifetime. "Very well then. Have it your way. If you dispel Izanagi, I shall step down as Captain-Commander and pass the position on to Shunsui."

Both Urahara and Takahashi failed utterly to hide their surprise.

"If that is what it takes to avert disaster, I will do so." The old man slid a little further to the edge of the stone circle. He was hanging on to the tablet with just his fingertips now, his sword clenched between the tablet and his hand. "Please, Katsumi. Hurry!"

The man-turned-monster hesitated. "What is this disaster you speak of?" he questioned suspiciously. "It seems rather convenient. I seal you away and the world goes to shit? You'll have to do better than that."

Yamamoto grit his teeth as his feet came off the ground and he dangled from the tablet like a leaf caught in a storm. Seeing no other option, he readjusted his grip, letting go of his blade in the process. The sword instantly made a beeline for the swirling vortex below and was swallowed by it.

Seeing that ancient man hanging on for dear life was completely surreal. The oldest, most horrifically powerful man in Soul Society's history was billowing in the wind like laundry hung out to dry. His robes and beard fluttered about wildly, completely shattering his dignified image. It might have been the first time in his life that Urahara was utterly speechless.

Using all of his strength, Yamamoto pulled himself closer to the tablet. "I cannot tell you! Not you, not after what you have become!" He made eye-contact with Urahara. Mindful of Takahashi's eyes on him, he began to mouth words to Urahara, knowing the scientist could lip-read.

'U-ki-ta-ke' Urahara decoded the signals, followed by 'Repentance Tower'. Urahara subtly nodded to show he had understood the message.

Takahashi still hadn't done anything. He seemed to be arguing with himself – quite literally, at that.

"Maybe we should- but then... what if it's true?"

Was he conversing with his inner Hollow? Urahara listened intently, trying to make sense of what he heard. Unfortunately, he was only privy to one half the conversation.

"No, don't!" Takahashi called out in a panic, and froze up. A deeply disturbing chuckle emanated from behind his mask. "Can't have you going soft on me now, King." It was astounding how the same voice could suddenly sound so very different. Hyperion raised his arm in Yamamoto's direction. Energy gathered around his closed fist. "Goodbye, old man." He fired the Bala.

Yamamoto let go.

Urahara watched as he fell. Yamamoto's arm desperately reached out to the tablet, but he was already too far away to grab on. The back of his hand was scratched. Katsumi's Bala hadn't done much damage, but it had been enough to knock his hand away from the tablet. Ironically, it was the first and only attack Takahashi had used since the start of the battle. The man hadn't had a single chance to switch to offense during Yamamoto's relentless onslaught. Even so, he had won in the end.

Yamamoto was pulled into the light, and was gone.

With the sound of a gong being hit, the prison was closed off, and the light faded. Urahara couldn't see the bottom of the Seal from where he was, but he knew that the lowest level had once again become flat stone. Now, the Seal would return to its original shape. The segments would each rise up again, with each one placing an additional dimensional barrier between Yamamoto and the outside world. Afterward, the fifth and final tablet would activate. It would then start to drain the captive's Reiryoku, using it to power the Seal for as long as the subject remained within.

Four dimensional barriers in total. Five, if you counted the dome. All that on top of being trapped within a pocket dimension while the link with your Zanpakuto was broken, your Reiryoku was being sapped continuously, and time was slowed to a crawl.

Urahara had to ask. "Takahashi-san," he spoke to the kneeling, unmoving figure. "How did you do it? How did you escape?"

Urahara was relieved to hear that the rogue's voice had returned to normal. "You're a clever man, Urahara Kisuke," he replied softly. "Much smarter than I am. So I find myself wondering: how can you not realize what the answer is, when you're looking right at it?"

Urahara felt very, very foolish then. The Seal interfered with the link Shinigami and Zanpakuto. It had been designed specifically to deal with the most powerful of Soul Reapers.

It had  _not_  been made with a Visored's Inner Hollow in mind. Being regular Shinigami, he, Tessai and Ukitake had never even considered the possibility. They did not know how an Inner Hollow manifested itself, and what influence it had over its host. The very first thing they should have done upon learning of his escape, was to contact Hirako's group and ask them about every single aspect of their Hollow abilities.

"In a complicated dilemma, the most obvious answers tend to be dismissed, since we can't imagine the truth to be so simple," the rogue Shinigami mused. He looked gravely at Urahara. A dark aura began to emanate from his body. "Out of respect for the friendship I used to share with Yoruichi, I will tell you this: in a few minutes, this barrier will be dispelled. By then, I will no longer be myself."

He leaned in closer. "I suggest you get far away from here before that happens."

Urahara bowed his head. "Thank you for the warning, Takahashi-san." He began to walk away, intending to follow the man's advice. When Yoruichi returned with the Captains, he would join them. Together, they would stand a far better chance of dealing with the monster that was about to be unleashed.

"I will try to make your death a painless one." He disappeared in a flicker of Shunpo, leaving the broken man alone in his last moments of sanity.

* * *

Back in the world of the living:

Ichigo began to stir. His body was waking up, but his mind was still playing catch-up.

The first thing he became aware of was that he must have passed out at some point. The second was the horrible wave of nausea that came over him.

With a groan, he managed to sit upright. He massaged his forehead in an attempt to get rid of any lingering disorientation, then opened his eyes.

"Huh." Now how had he ended up here again, he wondered.

Ichigo found himself in Grimmjow's room once more. He started upon seeing a blue-haired figure lying on the futon next to his own, but it was only the Arrancar's Gigai. It didn't seem to be occupied at the moment.

"Hello?" he called out, but no response came. Everyone must still have been busy with the Hollow invasion.

Ichigo supposed he might as well get something to eat then. Now that the nausea was subsiding, he realized he was starving. He stood up and straightened out his school uniform.

Hopefully, the others would get back soon. Going out on his own was suicide with that many Hollows around, but he really wanted to go home and take a shower already. He'd been wearing the same clothes all day, and they were starting to smell.

As he made his way to the door, something hit him in the forehead. Hard.

"Ow!" Ichigo quickly took a step back, rubbing the sting out of the offended area. "What the hell was that?" He scanned his surroundings carefully, but there was nothing there. Curiously, he looked at Grimmjow's Gigai again. It  _was_ unoccupied... right?

He was about to berate himself for being stupid – Grimmjow didn't have a sense of humor after all, certainly not one that juvenile – when the damn thing suddenly arched up off the bed and desperately sucked in air, like some cheap jump-scare in a Horror movie.

Ichigo was ashamed to admit it had worked. "Son of a bitch!" he cursed, backing up against the wall in his momentary panic. "Why did you do that?!" he demanded angrily, heart hammering away in his chest.

"What are  _you_ getting all pissy for?" Grimmjow complained as he struggled to get up. After being inactive for so long, his Gigai didn't seem to be responding too well to his commands. "Don't ignore me like that, you shithead!" He uttered some more profanities while he struggled to get his limbs moving properly. Eventually he succeeded in standing up.

Now that his heart rate had gone back down to more acceptable levels, Ichigo removed himself from the wall and tried to act like he hadn't totally freaked out just then. With a little luck, Grimmjow would have been too distracted by his Gigai booting up to notice. "What do you mean, I ignored you? I thought you weren't in your Gigai?"

The Arrancar looked at him questioningly. As they stared at each other, Ichigo got briefly distracted by Grimmjow's altered appearance. While he'd seen it before, it was still somewhat bewildering being able to see the man's entire face. He looked like a regular, handsome twenty-something year-old man without that ghastly jawbone stuck to his cheek.

"I wasn't," Grimmjow eventually replied, still wearing that confused expression. Clearly, there was some sort of disconnect happening here. "I got in just now. Didn't you hear me talking to you? Even flicked you in the forehead, still got no reaction."

"That was you?" Ichigo would have gotten angry, but the implication behind Grimmjow's words left him feeling numb instead.

Grimmjow seemed to be catching on as well. "You couldn't see me, huh?" Ichigo didn't answer, but he didn't need to. There was a pregnant pause. "Well..." Grimmjow started somewhat uncomfortably, scratching the back of his head. "You knew it would happen, right?"

"I did. It's just... I didn't even get to say goodbye to Rukia or my other friends from Soul Society." He absently scratched his cheek, not believing he was having a heart-to-heart with Grimmjow of all people.

"Whaddaya mean, 'say goodbye'?" The Arrancar frowned. "Weren't you gonna try and get your powers back?"

"I was. I mean, I am!" he quickly corrected himself. "It might take me a while though."

"Heh." Grimmjow smiled at that. Not a smirk, or even a grin but an actual, genuine smile. "Good. Don't forget: you still owe me a rematch." He walked away then, heading out into the hallway.

Ichigo watched him leave with his mouth hanging open. Part of him believed he must have been hallucinating just now. It  _had_ to have been real though. The image of the bloodthirsty Sexta Espada gently smiling was not something he could just dream up. His imagination was nowhere near  _that_ good.

Chuckling softly to himself, Ichigo chased after Grimmjow. "You sure you should be cheering me up like that?" he asked playfully as he jogged past him. "You should be more careful, or we might actually start to get along."

He could hear Grimmjow's footsteps abruptly halting. Just before he turned the corner, Ichigo glanced back at what was behind him. Grimmjow was frozen in place, his expression a glorious mix of horror, disbelief and total bewilderment.

Ichigo quickly moved on, trying very hard not to laugh within earshot. In his opinion, that comment had been completely worth it.

The poor teen was completely unaware of the events he had just set in motion.


	13. Chapter 13

### Intermission

Deep within the bowels of Hueco Mundo, far below even the Forest of Menos, a lone figure was partaking of his meal. The sounds of flesh being torn and bone cracking echoed throughout the cave as he ate.

His current 'home' was located at the bottom of an enormous ravine. The fissure extended for miles along one of the lowest levels of the Menos Forest, like a wound in the world. This far down, the temperature never rose above minus twenty degrees Celsius. This made it perfect for long-term food storage.

The cold was just one of the reasons he had decided on this location as his base of operations. It was also incredibly difficult to reach, which ensured he never received any unwanted visitors. The descent was highly perilous, and any misstep could cost you your life. Well, not  _his_ life. Even if he were to slip and fall all the way to the bottom of the ravine, he'd still emerge unscathed. A Warlord was not so easily killed.

For almost a full century now, he had spent the majority of his time in this cave. The only time he risked going up to the surface was when his food stores ran low, and he tended to take several Adjuchas worth of flesh back with him after every foray to the desert above. Vasto Lorde were far too rare and valuable to be used as mere food.

Throughout the ages, he tended to change his location about once every two hundred years. The only people who had any business contacting him would be able to find him no matter where he went. Ties far stronger than mere blood connected him to his siblings.

Most of his time was spent sleeping. His sole duty was to survive until his master returned, and so he minimized his exposure to other Hollows, focusing on conserving his energy instead.

At least, that was how he'd done it for the first three hundred years spent in isolation.

He was a very curious sort by nature. On top of that, he was his lord's foremost tactician. He had to keep his mind sharp for when he would finally return. As such, he would occasionally venture into the world of the humans, bringing back as many books as he could find. Humans had made some incredible progress over the course of the last millennium, especially in the art of war. That knowledge would surely prove invaluable in the future.

A being such as himself required a substantial amount of nourishment to survive. While he was at no risk of regression, his body was highly demanding. Under normal circumstances, he and his sisters would receive energy directly from their master, through their link to him. Obviously, that was no longer possible.

His fist clenched in a sudden onset of fury, crushing what remained of the head he was eating. Those accursed Shinigami had taken him away from them! For twelve hundred years, he'd been forced to hide under a rock because of them! Worst of all was that in all that time, he had not found a single lead as to his master's location.

Even so, their lord was undoubtedly still alive. Most likely somewhere within the Seireitei. If not, he and his siblings would have known. They might even have died with him if that had been the case. They were after all their master's limbs, in a very visceral sense. He thought it highly likely that their survival was linked to his.

One of his sisters had finally lost her patience a little over a century ago. Using her abilities, she had enslaved an army of lesser Hollows and bound four Vasto Lorde to her, using them to mount a direct assault on Soul Society. He had known it would prove a pointless excursion. Their enemies were far more formidable than Lilith gave them credit for.

He had tried to dissuade her, but she refused to heed his warnings. So when she attacked, he had given her all the support he could: he helped organize her army and maximize her chance of success, yet did not participate in the battle himself. He did not take unnecessary risks.

Their other sister had not even cared. Kali had ignored all their attempts at establishing contact. They had not heard from her in over five hundred years now. Perhaps if  _she_  had joined the fight, they might have succeeded. That point was moot though. Even if she had joined, it would still have been an unacceptable risk. All three of them might have died. Lilith was lucky to have made it out of Soul Society alive after her army had been annihilated.

Sighing dejectedly, he cleaned his hand of the blood and brain matter. For now, he would sleep once again, most likely for one or two weeks. The Hollow he'd consumed had been a powerful Adjuchas; it should last him for that long at least.

That was all his life consisted of anymore: Sleeping, hunting, eating, and when he got the chance, reading. He padded back to his 'bed' – a great big fur he'd skinned off a particularly large, hairy Hollow. Before he lay down, he threw a longing look at the shrine dedicated to his master. It was a simple, yet grotesque thing.

He had made a perfectly horizontal cut into one of the larger rocks in his cave so he would have a flat surface. On top of it, he had put the treasured relic his master had given him so long ago, when he had begun his service. It was a stark white object, with black lines running across its surface like veins. It looked to be an oddly shaped chalice - big, sharp spikes jutted up from where you would put your lips. Obviously, it was not meant for drinking from.

The relic had been made from the very bones of his lord. His master was capable of regeneration of course, so the practice hadn't left him disfigured in any way. All of the Warlords had received one. They were their greatest treasures, and their most terrible weapons. They were nothing short of sacred to them.

He lay down on the bed, and closed his eyes.

" **Samael."**

The voice echoed throughout the cave, deep, dark, and terrible. Samael sat upright. Could it be? Could it possibly be true? After all these centuries?

Very slowly, he turned his head toward the relic. A black flame was now burning within the chalice, floating in between the spikes. The flame's center was pure white.

Almost falling over himself in his hurry to get to it, Samael sank to his knees beside the relic. The flame didn't give off any heat, and just the barest amount of light. It was clearly no ordinary fire - this was pure Reiatsu. A Reiatsu he knew better than his own.

Samael's obsidian mask glinted in the light. Tears began to stream down his cheeks. "My lord – is it, is it really you?" He spoke to the flame, voice cracking.

" **I am still weak. Contacting you requires all the power I can muster right now."**

With shaking hands, Samael took hold of the chalice. "My lord – give me your command. If you so desire, I shall infiltrate the Seireitei this very instant and free you!"

" **No."** The voice was stern, emotionless.  **"You know that to be a fool's errand. I shall escape on my own, in time."** It was silent for a moment.  **"What of the others?**

Samael's gaze fell. "Both of my sisters still live. However, Alastor and Halphas are long dead."

The flame seemed to dim for a moment.  **"Alastor's essence returned to me when he was struck down. I clearly sensed his death. But Halphas as well?"**

Samael nodded, but was unsure of whether his lord was able to see him. He quickly spoke: "Yes. It was after you fell, my lord. He attempted to escape, but the Shinigami overwhelmed him."

" **I see. That is unfortunate. Losing Halphas' ability to fly weakens us severely."**

That his lord was not saddened by the news came as no surprise. While he and his siblings cared for each other, the relationship they had with their leader was strictly business. They revered him as a god, but both sides knew they were only using each other. The Hollow Lord, per definition, had no higher goal himself. All he longed for was to consume and destroy.

That simple instinct made him predictable. Being predictable was a weakness. Therefore, he required the wisdom of his Warlords.

"How is it that you have finally succeeded in establishing contact?" Samael spoke to the flame.

" **The old man is gone,"** it answered bluntly.

Samael drew in a sharp breath. "General Yamamoto? He is dead?"

The flame dimmed again while the Hollow Lord was lost in thought.  **"No. I do not believe he is. I felt him enter Hueco Mundo, but I lost track of him immediately after. He must be in a place my senses cannot reach."**

An image of a gargantuan white dome surrounded by desert invaded Samael's mind. It had been a very long time since he had received a message that way. "I will investigate the area at once," he complied.

" **One month,"** the voice bellowed.  **"In one month, I shall return. You know what to do before then."** The flame flickered, and was extinguished.

Slowly, Samael righted himself. His shoulders shook as he laughed to himself in the total darkness, even as tears of joy simultaneously trailed down his cheeks.

One more month. In just one more month, their god would finally be reborn.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All temperatures are in Celsius.

## Part 2: Rise to Power

### Chapter 13: Desperate Measures

Ichigo was in a foul mood. With his hands tucked deep into his coat pockets and a hood obscuring his bright orange hair, he stalked the streets of Karakura, practically emanating an aura of hostility. His trademark scowl was out in full force, and people instinctively gave him a wide berth when they passed him.

The weak midday sun shone down on him, its rays barely providing any warmth. Temperatures were beginning to flirt with the freezing point, and the first snow of the year couldn't be too far off anymore. Perhaps as a result of that, some people were prematurely getting into the Christmas spirit, and every now and then he would hear cheesy Christmas songs from within a store as he passed by.

If he heard the words 'Jingle Bells' one more time, he was going to strangle someone.

The reason for his current, admittedly cranky state of mind was that he had just finished another training session with Ishida. It had been Urahara's idea: the logic here was that if Ichigo had any Spirit Energy left at all, and he learned to draw it out and use it at will, he might be able to naturally build up his store of Reiryoku again, reclaiming his former abilities that way. If not, it would at least serve as a jump-start for whatever method Urahara would eventually cook up. As an added bonus, if he started out with such low (if any at all) quantities of energy, he might be able to properly control his Reiatsu this time around, and perhaps even learn some Kido once he became a full-fledged Shinigami again.

So far however, the results were not promising.

Ichigo had expected it would be frustrating. He had known it was going to take time. He just hadn't thought that he would be making absolutely ZERO progress whatsoever after more than a week of doing this.

Uryu was doing his best to help, he really was. While Ichigo may have been hesitant at first in asking him, his friend-slash-rival had really come through for him. He had looked through his family's ancient Quincy texts for anything that might help, had attempted to forcefully draw out some of Ichigo's energy, had even taught him how to meditate properly... but so far nothing had worked.

A few setbacks weren't going to make him give up though.

While Ichigo was doing his best on his end, Urahara was looking into other methods. The scientist had been convinced there was something he could do to help. Lately however, it appeared other matters required his attention more urgently.

It had been a little over a week since Yamamoto had been taken out of the picture. From the snippets of news Ichigo occasionally received, he'd learned that Soul Society's political climate had become... turbulent, to say the least.

With Yamamoto gone, Captain Kyoraku had been promoted to Commander of the Gotei, and some of the nobles were less than happy about the way he did things. For one, he had already broken tradition by taking both Sasakibe  _and_ Nanao as his lieutenants. He hadn't been making it easy on Central either, arguing back and forth with them over matters they disagreed on, and even outright refusing to follow their orders when he felt they were unreasonable. Clearly, he was nothing like the old man in that department.

That wasn't the part that worried Ichigo though. There was clearly more going on than just some political squabbles. For one: why hadn't Yamamoto been freed yet in the first place? Surely, Soul Society had some Kido users among their ranks who were capable of unlocking Izanagi's Seal?

Secondly, how come Takahashi, the man responsible for it all hadn't been caught yet? Apparently, by the time Yoruichi had arrived with backup at the site of the battle, he'd already disappeared. No-one had seen or heard of him since.

Ichigo didn't believe for a second that this was caused by Captain Kyoraku's incompetence. He himself may not have interacted much with Kyoraku, but Yamamoto had personally chosen him to be his successor, and Central 46 had agreed with that decision. His capabilities as a leader couldn't have been the issue here. There had to be something more to it. Every time Ichigo thought it over, he felt like he was missing a piece of the puzzle.

He had asked his father about it, but the man refused to give him a straight answer. Ditto with Urahara, and none of his friends seemed to know anything more either. It was frustrating beyond belief.

The crowd thinned out as he left the shopping district behind him and entered the suburbs. Today was a Sunday, so he had the rest of the day to keep working on his exercises. Maybe he'd give Urahara a call later - try to find out what the shopkeeper was up to these days.

Upon entering his neighborhood, Ichigo instantly got the feeling there was something off. He looked around, and a flash of blue caught his eye.

"Grimmjow?!" The Arrancar's name came out at a somewhat higher pitch than Ichigo had meant it to. You couldn't really fault him for it. He hadn't seen hide nor hair of the Arrancar since the day of the Hollow invasion, and now he suddenly runs into him here? Heading... toward his house, Ichigo warily noted.

The Arrancar quickly turned around. "Kurosaki," he stated rather factually upon seeing him. "Huh. Had no idea you were there. Usually I can sense you coming from half a mile away."

So many questions were fighting each other in Ichigo's head to decide which one of them should be asked first. He probably should have focused on the important issues, like why Grimmjow was here, or what the situation was like in Hueco Mundo, something like that.

Instead, what he decided on was: "What the hell are you wearing?!" Just looking at the Arrancar nearly gave him frostbite. Grimmjow still had the same flimsy T-shirt on that Urahara had given him back when he first woke up from his coma, and aside from the obvious, that was  _all_  the man was wearing.

"What?" Grimmjow bit out. "This is what that stupid Gigai was wearing. Sorry if doesn't meet your high standards in fashion, princess." How he managed to say that with a straight face even as his teeth were chattering was beyond Ichigo.

"I'm not talking about your sense of style – or lack thereof, you moron," he replied as he walked up to Grimmjow. "I meant that you're going around wearing a freaking  _handkerchief_ in two-degree weather!"

Grimmjow frowned at him. "I can take a little cold."

Ichigo just about threw his hands up in exasperation. It was like dealing with a petulant child. He barely managed to suppress a snappy comeback and began moving again, gesturing for Grimmjow to follow. "Whatever. Just hurry up and come with me, so we can get you inside before my dad has to amputate your fingertips."

Grimmjow seemed to have no objection to that. When the sound of chattering teeth started up again, Ichigo felt something close to pity for his blue-haired companion. With a sigh, he removed his scarf and gloves and presented them to Grimmjow. "Here, put these on." The Arrancar looked at the offered items in confusion, then looked at Ichigo again, blinked, and finally opened his mouth to protest.

"Put the damn gloves on!" Ichigo ordered in a commanding voice, cutting Grimmjow off before he could get a word out. This time, he complied. He must have really been chilled to the bone if he gave in that easily. The steady click-click-clack of his teeth eventually came to a halt once he was somewhat protected from the chill.

Ichigo quickly put his hands back in his pockets. Having them suddenly be exposed to the biting winter air after being nice and warm inside his gloves was rather unpleasant. "Why are you here, anyway?" he asked the Arrancar as they marched along, side-by-side.

"Didn't have anything better to do, really," he shrugged. The scarf had been wrapped snugly around his neck, Ichigo noted. "Wandering around Hueco Mundo by myself is apparently 'too dangerous' now," he said, making air quotes, "and those fuckers over in Haven drive me up the fucking wall. I mean, Harribel is vaguely likable I guess, since she knows how to mind her own damn business, but Nelliel..." he shuddered. "Bitch won't leave me the hell alone. Every time I try to go out on my own, she's just _there_ all of a sudden with her retard friends, and follows me all over the fucking place."

Ichigo sent him a nasty glare for talking about Nel like that, but knew there wouldn't be any point in getting into an argument over it. Besides, his interest had been peaked. Perhaps Grimmjow had an idea as to the reason his father and Urahara had been so tense lately.

"What do you mean, Hueco Mundo is too dangerous?" he questioned. Grimmjow should have been the second, maybe third (Nel was pretty damn tough after all) strongest fighter in Hueco Mundo right now. He was at the top of the food chain over there. Right?

"The shopkeeper didn't tell you?" He seemed rather surprised that Ichigo was so out of the loop. "Lots of weird shit is going on. A bunch of Arrancar went out to gather supplies for the camp, but they never came back. Even that jackass Mosqueda up and vanished, and even if he was a piss-poor excuse for an Espada, there shouldn't be much out there that could give him trouble."

Ichigo vaguely recalled Chad telling him about a guy named Mosqueda. He'd fought him in Hueco Mundo when they went to rescue Orihime. Apparently he was a Privaron Espada like Dordoni had been – the only surviving one, at that. Even so, the fact that Arrancar were disappearing from Haven only served to confuse Ichigo more. Could it possibly be related?

More importantly: "You're keeping in touch with Urahara?" Ichigo asked disbelievingly. He'd expected the Espada to bolt for Hueco Mundo upon regaining his freedom, never going near Urahara's shop ever again.

"Sort of." Grimmjow shrugged noncommittally. "We made a deal: I tell him about what goes on in Hueco Mundo, and he lets me keep using the room he gave me." When he saw the incredulous look Ichigo was giving him, he elaborated: "Sure the place is a madhouse, but at least it's an actual  _room_. In Haven, everyone just sleeps in glorified tents, and Las Noches is a fucking ruin." He shivered briefly when a gust of icy wind blew straight through his shirt. "And those guys all have other things to worry about, so they leave me be most of the time."

Ichigo decided not to comment on the absurdity of traveling between dimensions just to get some peace and quiet. "Huh. I guess something big really is going then," he muttered. And both his father and Urahara had chosen to leave him entirely in the dark about it. That was just... great.

He shook his head in order to clear his thoughts. "Look, it's not that I don't want you here or anything, but I've got stuff to do," he said to Grimmjow. "I'll lend you some actual clothes when we get to my house so you don't freeze to death, but then I really have to get back to work."

"Oh yeah. You're doing some sort of exercises with that Quincy prick, huh? The shopkeeper said as much when I got here." A wolfish grin spread out over his features. "I've got a better idea."

Ichigo would be lying if he said that grin didn't make him somewhat nervous. "Which would be?" he asked, voice filled with apprehension.

Grimmjow didn't answer right away. His grin however, got just a bit wider.

* * *

Apparently, Urahara had let it slip to the Arrancar at some point that Ichigo used to practice Karate, and was a pretty good hand-to-hand fighter. Grimmjow, being bored out of his mind and frustrated from being confined to the relative safety of Haven, had chosen to take that as a challenge.

Ichigo had to wonder whether Urahara had set this up on purpose. Some sort of crazy scheme to have them both work out their respective frustrations on each other.

He was slowly coming to terms with the idea that he would have to kill Urahara someday if he wanted to hang on to his sanity and general well-being.

It had been a while since he was last here, but once again Ichigo found himself in the Arrancar's room. No-one had come out to greet the pair when they entered the shop, so Urahara and the others were probably all busy at the moment.

Despite his initial – and totally justified - apprehension, Ichigo had to admit having a good old-fashioned sparring match might not be such a bad idea. After all the meditating and other spiritual stuff he'd done at Uryu's, some physical exercise would do him good. Somewhat naively, he also couldn't help but think that the thrill of a fight might help stir something within him. Trigger his slumbering power somehow.

On the other hand, getting into a spar with  _Grimmjow,_ the most violent member of the already generally unstable Espada may have just been asking for trouble.

"Alright, we need to set some ground rules," Ichigo decided. The last thing he needed right now was to get permanently maimed - or worse.

Grimmjow was just putting on the sweatpants Ichigo had lent him when he looked up. "Huh? Now what are you bitching about?"

"Just so this doesn't get out of hand," Ichigo elaborated. He walked into the 'ring', which was really just an open area they'd created by moving the futons around, and began jumping in place to warm up. "I mean like no going for the eyes or groin, stopping when someone taps out-"

"Yeah, yeah," the Arrancar muttered, demonstrating a complete lack of interest. He joined Ichigo in the 'ring' and cracked his neck before adopting a fighting stance. "You about ready? Or do you need help putting on your training bra first?" He bared his teeth in an expression that was not quite a smile, not quite a smirk.

Feeling sufficiently warmed up, and somewhat ticked off as an added bonus, Ichigo stopped moving and put up his fists. Matching Grimmjow's expression, he said: "At least I'm wearing  _something_ ," referring to Grimmjow's bare torso. He had offered him one of his spare tank tops, similar to the one he was currently wearing, but Grimmjow had opted to go without it. "Didn't know you had an exhibitionist streak," Ichigo quipped.

In response, Grimmjow closed the distance between them and opened with a swift one-two punch, which Ichigo blocked. "Like what you see, Kurosaki?"

Huffing out a laugh, Ichigo charged forward like he was going to ram Grimmjow with his elbow. The Espada twisted his upper body, narrowly managing to avoid the hit. In the same instant, Ichigo drew back his outstretched leg, attempting to hook it behind Grimmjow's foot, but the other man had seen the maneuver coming a mile away and jumped over the leg sweep.

In retaliation, he aimed a lightning-fast aerial kick at the teen's chest, like a sting from a giant blue hornet.

Knowing the kick was too fast for him to block or counter, Ichigo let himself drop to the floor, curling up his body to both accelerate the fall and roll backwards in one smooth motion once he hit the ground. Rolling over his shoulder, he got back up right away once his feet found purchase on the tatami mat and took up his fighting stance again.

They were roughly back at their starting positions now. After the short exchange, Ichigo had to admit that Grimmjow had some skill behind him. He was going to have to kick it up a notch if he wanted to find out just how good the Arrancar really was. 

Before he knew it, his usual scowl had morphed into a grin. He was starting to enjoy himself.

"Don't flatter yourself, Jaegerjaquez," he continued their earlier conversation. "That huge ego of yours is making you a bigger target." Grimmjow didn't respond, but he could see the man's lips drawing back in a half-smile.

No further words were needed. The two lunged at each other again, neither of them holding anything back this time. Both of them seemed to believe that  _they_ were the better fighter, and they would make the other admit defeat, no matter the cost.

Thirty minutes and a nearly uncountable number of kicks, punches and even some rather painful headbutts later, the pair was kneeling on the floor, practically wrapped in each others arms as they both tried to put each other in a chokehold.

"What? Don't tell me you're getting tired?" Ichigo huffed, sweat dripping down his face and neck. His white wife-beater was plastered to his skin, almost having gone see-through in some places.

Grimmjow roughly pushed at his shoulder in an attempt to get him off-balance. "Hell no. Fresh as a fucking daisy," he rasped out hoarsely, making Ichigo laugh.

"I don't suppose-" Ichigo began, intentionally giving in to Grimmjow's push so he could use the man's own strength against him. Grimmjow fell forward once Ichigo stopped resisting, and Ichigo hurried to pin him to the floor. Mid-fall however, Grimmjow somehow managed to right himself and after some awkward shuffling about they found themselves in a deadlock once again. "-You'd be willing to call it a draw?" Ichigo finished lamely, disappointed that his plan had failed.

In response, the Espada attempted to headbutt him again, thus forcing Ichigo, with no other way to defend himself, to do the same. Their foreheads painfully collided, making Ichigo see stars for a second. "What do you think?" Grimmjow grit out, the slightest hint of discomfort apparent in his voice. Despite this, he stubbornly continued his offensive, like a stag locking antlers.

"Yeah..." the teen groaned painfully. "Figured as much." He  _was_ seriously getting tired though. Not just that, but between the two of them they must have collected over fifty bruises. His  _everything_  hurt like a bitch. Honestly it was the most fun he'd had in weeks.

Still, he wasn't planning on losing now. It was time to move on to riskier tactics. For a second, he used every bit of energy he had left to try and overpower Grimmjow - who eagerly pushed back, believing he could win a contest of pure strength – and abruptly launched himself backward instead.

Having invested so much strength, Grimmjow couldn't stop himself from faltering. Ichigo tightened his hold on the sides of Grimmjow's shoulders, tucked in his legs as his lower back hit the ground, and pulled the other man along for the ride.

Grimmjow's forward momentum launched him forward, and for a split second he was hovering over Ichigo, looking into his eyes. Disbelief and anger were clearly identifiable. Ichigo couldn't stop himself from grinning at the sight. In that same instant, Ichigo extended his legs again, mercilessly planted his feet into Grimmjow's stomach with a resounding slap of flesh hitting flesh, and  _pushed._

The Arrancar was flipped over like a pancake.

Not intending to let it end like that, Grimmjow desperately tried to land on his feet in order to regain his balance. Of course, Ichigo still retained a tight grip on his shoulders, and wasn't about to let him succeed. As soon as gravity kicked in again and started dragging the Arrancar back down to Earth, Ichigo decided to give it a helping hand.

The entire room shook as eighty kilos worth of Espada slammed into the tatami mat, landing flat on his back. Despite being disoriented and breathless after the impact, Grimmjow still attempted to get up right away. This time, Ichigo didn't let him.

Just as he was getting off the ground, Ichigo snaked an arm around his neck and applied a fair bit pressure, pulling him back down. With a choking gasp, the Espada sank to the floor and was forced into a sitting position.

"Sooo..." Ichigo started, smiling deviously as he tightened his hold on the man's neck. "Remember what I said about tapping out?"

An angry, strangled sound emerged from Grimmjow throat in response, which Ichigo imagined was probably meant to be 'Bite me, Kurosaki!'.

"Sorry, I didn't catch that last bit." Using both arms now, he tightened his grip a little. "Care to repeat?"

More grunting and choking noises emerged. It sounded vaguely like: 'This... is... bullshit!' Refusing to give up, Grimmjow clawed at the offending arm, trying to wrench it away from his throat, but to no avail.

"You know, you're getting awfully red in the face," Ichigo remarked innocently. It was  _really_ difficult to keep himself from sounding overly smug. He also wasn't trying very hard. "You sure you don't want to tap out? Struggling till you pass out isn't going to do you any good."

Grimmjow made one last, desperate attempt at breaking free, snarling and wheezing, digging his nails into Ichigo's arm and just generally making a nuisance of himself, but the teen was simply not letting go. The Espada furiously uttered some final, incomprehensible murmurs that may have included the words 'fucker' and 'kill', before falling silent at last.

Finally, Ichigo felt two quick taps against his arm, signaling Grimmjow's grudging surrender. Victory secured, he let go immediately, and the Espada fell forward onto his hands and knees, sucking in air. Ichigo breathed out in relief, and leaned back while he watched Grimmjow get some oxygen back into his system.

"Well. That was fun," he said, making Grimmjow glare daggers at him. "No, seriously." He held up his hands in mock-surrender, showing he wasn't just taking the piss. "I needed this. I've been out of the action for too long. It was a good fight."

Grimmjow crawled over and flopped down across from him, still breathing heavily. "I want a rematch," were the first words out of his mouth.

Ichigo grinned, and was about to answer when they were interrupted.

"I hate to spoil the fun," Urahara announced as he strode into the room, "but I'm afraid it will have to wait." Ichigo noticed right away how tired he looked. He was trying to act cheerful as always, but was failing miserably at it.

Frowning, Ichigo got up and went to talk to him. "What's up, Kisuke?" The man looked much the same as he had done the time Yoruichi had gone MIA in Hueco Mundo, only worse. He must not have slept properly for a week, if not longer.

His mentor fidgeted uneasily. "Do you remember how we talked about ways for you to regain your powers?" he began, keeping his eyes downcast. Ichigo nodded. "I promised you I would find a relatively risk-free way to do so... but we're out of time."

Before continuing, the man glanced briefly at Grimmjow. He must have been unsure if it was wise to let the Arrancar hear the next part. He eventually resumed talking anyway, apparently concluding that it did not matter. "I'm sure you have already noticed that something is afoot, Kurosaki-san. I assume Grimmjow told you of the disappearances in Haven? This is related to that."

He walked a few paces away from Ichigo. "I already know what your answer will be," Urahara spoke despondently, "but still I have to ask." Turning around again, he locked eyes with Ichigo. The severity of the situation finally got through to him when he saw that look on his mentor's face. Urahara was resolved, yet also saddened and deeply ashamed at what he was asking of him.

"After everything you have already done for us. All the suffering you have gone through for your friends, the Soul Society and even the entire world..." he trailed off. He swallowed and took a deep breath, steeling himself. "Will you lend us your strength once more?"

Somewhat exasperated at all the drama, Ichigo sighed while scratching the back of his neck. _Honestly_ , he thought to himself, _l_ _ike there's even any point in doing this now..._ When he met Urahara's gaze, one corner of his mouth was slightly upturned. "Urahara. You really didn't need to ask."

* * *

He followed Urahara down the ladder to the underground training area. Grimmjow climbed down after them. After Ichigo had declared he was fine with him coming along, Urahara had allowed it, but only on the condition that he stayed in his Gigai for the duration of... whatever was about to happen.

The giant, featureless black cube that awaited them at the base of the ladder instantly captured his attention. Something about it seemed... off. Once they reached the ground, Ichigo wanted to inspect it more closely, but Urahara stopped him with a subtle shake of his head.

"Holy shit," Grimmjow muttered as he joined them. His eyes wandered around the room, and it was clear from his expression that he didn't like what he saw. Out of instinct, he reached for his sword even though it wasn't there.

"What is it?" Ichigo asked, seeing nothing out of the ordinary aside from the mysterious cube.

The Arrancar was glaring at what was, from Ichigo's perspective, thin air. "There's a fuckton of Shinigami here," he grumbled lowly. "Most of them have their faces covered."

Shinigami who obscured their faces? There were only two organizations within the Seireitei whose members did that. "Do they look like ninjas?" he asked Grimmjow.

The man raised an eyebrow at the strange question, but answered anyway. "Not really. They have these long strips of cloth. Covers their faces and reaches all the way to their knees. They look like idiots if you ask me."

So it was the Kido Corps then. What on Earth could they be doing here? They were probably the most enigmatic organization in Soul Society. Ichigo knew their members were skilled with Kido (obviously) but knew next to nothing about them aside from that. It was seriously annoying not being able to see them for himself.

"They're not the only ones here," Grimmjow continued. "I'm seeing six Captains as well, and two Shinigami in regular uniform,"

_Six_ Captains? That many? Wide-eyed, he turned to Urahara again. "What the hell is going on here?"

The man smiled wryly at him, before looking at the black box. "Do you remember that first method I mentioned for regaining your powers? The potentially dangerous one? Well..." He nodded toward the cube. "This is it." Taking a deep breath, Urahara started walking forward. "Follow me if you would, Kurosaki-san. Stay right by my side. Grimmjow-san, please wait where you are," he ordered.

"I thought you said that method was too risky, and that you couldn't use it anyway, even if you wanted to?" Ichigo inquired as he walked with Urahara, leaving Grimmjow behind at the base of the ladder.

"I needed permission from Central 46 first. About two hours ago, I got it. I was planning to call you, but since Grimmjow already brought you here..." he trailed off. "Anyway, while there is a very real risk of this going wrong, we truly are running out of time. There is a disaster in the making, and you are one of the very few people who stand a chance of preventing it from happening at this point. While I apologize for being so vague, it will be easier to understand when you see the ah, 'problem' for yourself. Commander Kyoraku will fill you in on the details later."

Ichigo swallowed. Six Captains, including the newly appointed Head Captain were here, along with an entire regiment of Kido Corps troops from the sound of it. "I'm guessing all these people are here in case things go wrong?"

"Yes," Urahara admitted. "But they shouldn't. We were very thorough with the security measures." With a little less confidence, he added: "Though we are dealing with perhaps the two most unpredictable entities in the world here..."

At first, Ichigo just frowned a little harder upon hearing Urahara's cryptic remark. Then, it started to dawn on him. His eyebrows just about shot up into his hairline when he put two and two together. He examined the cube again, now realizing what that strange feeling he got from it was. "Kisuke. That thing came from the Soul Society, didn't it? How come I can see it?"

"It is made of a special material," he answered. "One used to build prisons for the most dangerous of criminals, namely those residing within the Muken. It is related to Seki-Seki, and virtually indestructible. It is apparently so dense even normal human beings can see it."

Ichigo's heart rate picked up. "From the Muken? Urahara, you cannot be serious about this." He looked back at Grimmjow, but the Arrancar did not seem to have noticed anything yet. He was still sending death glares at people currently invisible to Ichigo.

The teen did have a pretty good idea as to who he was glaring at. Grimmjow had mentioned two Shinigami in regular uniform, and he was willing to bet it was Rukia and Renji. Which meant Byakuya was most likely with them, and considering his and Grimmjow's respective personalities... Well, if Ichigo made it through this next part, there would probably be another problem awaiting him here when he got back.

_If Central 46 actually agreed to this, they must have really been desperate,_ Ichigo thought to himself. Still, what the hell could have possibly gone wrong now? It hadn't even been a full two weeks since the last disaster. Was it really that hard to keep the place from falling apart without the old man there?

"Ichigo." Urahara's voice pulled him out of his musings. "Are you ready?" The man was wearing an unusually soft expression. It was as if he was saying that he wouldn't blame Ichigo if he chose to stop now. Obviously, that wasn't going to happen.

Taking just a second to steel himself, Ichigo nodded. "Now or never."

Urahara signaled someone - likely a Kido Corps member - and guided Ichigo forward. "There's a few barriers we need to pass through," Urahara explained when they halted again after walking just a meter. "I wouldn't want you to walk into one of them." They repeated this process two more times, before finally arriving at one of the pitch black cube's sides. With a grim determination, Urahara pressed his hand against it, and right away the material began to warp, reorganizing itself to form an entrance. The two of them stepped though, walking into the inky blackness that awaited them. The 'door' closed behind them once they were through, leaving them trapped.

At first, Ichigo couldn't see a thing. Then, while his eyes were still adapting to the dark, the walls themselves began to emanate a soft, dark purple glow that illuminated the inside of the cube.

"So we meet again, Kurosaki Ichigo," a familiar voice spoke. Ichigo looked then, at the man sitting before them. Wrapped from head to toe in thick, black restraints that tied him firmly to the throne-like chair he was sitting on, was Sosuke Aizen. Only his mouth and left eye peeked out from underneath the black wrappings binding him. He was wearing something best described as a cross between a straitjacket and a tight leather suit.

"I must admit," he continued smoothly, "I had not expected to see you again so soon... certainly not under these circumstances." His lone visible eye gave the prison a quick once-over, as if gesturing toward it in lieu of actual hand movements. "I must apologize for being a poor host. As you can see, I'm thoroughly tied up at the moment." He smiled pleasantly at his own joke.

He was every bit the prick Ichigo remembered. He still spoke with that same gentle, honeyed voice while putting on an air of being a kind, decent human being. It didn't fool anyone, of course. Not anymore.

"Figures." Ichigo scowled. "My friends are all invisible to me, but  _you_ I can somehow still see."

"But of course," he answered complacently. "I am no mere ghost, after all. I have become something far greater-"

"And at the same time, something far less," Urahara interrupted his monologue. His grey eyes smoldered with something close to hatred as he stared the traitor down. "We didn't come here to talk, Aizen. In fact, we're not here for you at all." Ichigo couldn't help but feel somewhat surprised at seeing his mentor show open hostility, even to Aizen. The stress and fatigue caused by this past week's mysterious developments must have finally gotten to him. 

Aizen laughed politely at that, as if Urahara had told a mildly amusing joke. "Ah, yes." He put on that sickening smile again. "Your 'plan'." There was a vaguely mocking tone to his voice. "Talented though he may be, the boy will not possibly be able to learn the measure of control required of him in so short a time. Not even with the Hogyoku's assistance."

"I have faith in Ichigo," Urahara calmly dismissed Aizen's claim. A warm glow spread throughout Ichigo's chest upon hearing his mentor's mentor's unexpectedly bold declaration. Thankfully he managed to avoid blushing. He couldn't imagine two worse people in the world than these two to catch him feeling all warm and fuzzy.

"Having faith is the same thing as becoming reliant on someone," the traitor scoffed, clearly unimpressed.

"That's rich, coming from the guy who never once trusted another soul throughout his entire life," Ichigo interjected rather calmly. His gaze barely held any heat as he locked eyes with the man who had wanted to become a god. "Tell me, how's that working out for you?" He couldn't bring himself to hate Aizen. If anything, he pitied him. Despite all the evils the man had committed, he hadn't killed or done any lasting damage to Ichigo's friends. That was one thing Aizen had been right about.

For the first time, something close to annoyance showed on Aizen's face. "And what if your faith is misplaced, Urahara Kisuke? What if he fails?" Aizen pressed on, disregarding Ichigo's taunt. "Will you watch on as the world burns because of your mistake?"

"I do not recall asking for your opinion on the matter, Aizen-san." His voice was cold as ice. He turned toward Ichigo, refusing to listen to any more of the traitor's drivel. "Kurosaki-san. We've applied just about every technique we could think of to keep him from utilizing his abilities. Even so, we can't be sure he won't try anything. We should get this done and get out as quickly as possible."

Chuckling softly, Aizen spoke up once more, to Urahara's frustration. "If you are worried about foul play on my part, there is no need for that." As he spoke, the restraining fabric around his torso began to shift, pulling apart just enough to reveal the Hogyoku embedded within the center of his chest.

"I am physically incapable of harming Kurosaki Ichigo, or those he considers his allies. The Hogyoku will not allow me to," he explained. "When you defeated me, it selected you, and you alone as its true master, Kurosaki-san. The fact that it is fused with _my_ body means nothing."

As soon as the weakly glowing sphere was revealed, Ichigo couldn't tear his eyes away from it. He could feel it calling out to him. He had felt it ever since he had laid eyes on the black cube they were currently in. He subconsciously took a step forward, and it seemed to throb in response to Ichigo's presence.

He felt Urahara put a hand on his shoulder. "Be very careful, Ichigo. Focus on what you want it to do, and if anything feels wrong, tell me right away."

The reality-warping jewel throbbed again. As it did, Ichigo felt an alien presence brush against his mind. Somehow, it felt... questioning. Curious.

"I have to tell it what I want from it," Ichigo muttered softly. It was as if he was falling into a trance. He began walking forward again, but Urahara stopped him.

"What are you doing Ichigo?" Urahara whispered, sounding concerned... a little scared even. Ichigo could feel the hand on his shoulder shaking slightly.

Mustering up all his willpower, he managed to tear his eyes away from the Hogyoku to look back at his mentor. Beads of sweat were dripping down the man's brow. He alternated between looking at Ichigo with open concern, and looking at the Hogyoku with a mix of fear, anger and regret.

"It's okay," Ichigo reassured him, looking him in the eye. He had never seen Urahara look so uncertain. His own resolve however, was unshakable. He had to do this. He made sure his mentor knew that. "I know what I'm doing. Trust me."

Urahara clenched his jaw. He looked at Ichigo as if this was the first time he was really seeing him. "I do." Giving Ichigo's shoulder one last squeeze, he slowly let go.

Directing his full attention to the Hogyoku once again, Ichigo closed the distance with quick, determined strides, coming to a stop before Aizen's bound legs. Very slowly, he reached out to the tiny sphere, hesitating just before he made contact.

"Go ahead." Aizen looked down at him, seeming rather amused by the whole situation. "I won't bite."

Ichigo resisted the urge to flip him off, and put his hand on his archenemy's chest, feeling warm flesh beneath his fingers, as well as the solid, softly humming mass of the Hogyoku pressing into his palm.

It was like an electric current ran from his hand directly to his brain. An otherworldly, completely incomprehensible entity briefly merged with his psyche, asking a thousand questions Ichigo could not understand, and extracting the answers near instantaneously without any conscious input on Ichigo's part. It retreated from his mind just as quickly as it had come, leaving him with what could only be described as a severe case of mental whiplash.

A blue light now shone from underneath his palm. The Hogyoku had reached a consensus.

Right away, a massive wave of vertigo slammed into him, making Ichigo lose his balance. He sunk to his knees, yet could not let go of the Hogyoku; it was as if his flesh had been welded to it.

He looked at Aizen's legs, which quickly became blurry and out of focus. Soon, his vision went black, and the floor seemed to give out from under him. He felt himself falling, faster and faster, yet there was no air resistance. Ichigo imagined this is what it would be like to fall into the black void inside a Garganta. Somehow though, even that endless void hadn't been as featureless and empty as this.

Eventually, he felt himself slowing down, before landing gently on a solid surface. While he tried to reorient himself, the sound of footsteps grabbed his attention. Slowly, a tall figure wearing a long, billowing coat came into view. Ichigo could do nothing but gape as the man closed in on his position.

The figure stopped moving when it was before him, and spoke: "It has been a long time... Ichigo."

"...Yeah. Good to see you... Zangetsu."


	15. Chapter 15

### Chapter 14: The Face of Evil

"Oh my." Aizen spoke for the first time in several minutes, startling Urahara. "How fascinating. I never would have imagined."

Though he was still quite reluctant to speak to the traitor, Urahara's curiosity and concern quickly won out. "What's happening?" he demanded, quickly checking a sleeping Ichigo over for any abnormalities. Soon after the boy had lost consciousness, his hand had come unstuck from the Hogyoku, and Urahara had thought it best to move him rather than have him lie at Aizen's feet in a crumpled heap.

"I am not referring to what is happening to Kurosaki Ichigo," Aizen clarified. "Rather, it seems the Hogyoku has seen fit to grant one more person's wish." He arched his sole visible eyebrow at Urahara. "Most intriguing, don't you agree?"

Urahara instantly went into Panic Mode. "Yoruichi, what's happening out there?!" he snapped into his communicator.

Assuming Aizen spoke the truth- which he most likely was, given his personality- then whose wish could it possibly be granting? It wasn't any of his, Urahara was sure of that, and Aizen himself had said the Hogyoku no longer worked for him. That could only mean Aizen was referring to someone on the outside...

The twin headsets he and Yoruichi had on should have been the only link between the prison and the outside world. Nothing but the signal from those two devices should have been capable of making it through the many barriers. Yet if what Aizen said was true, then the Hogyoku was somehow flat-out ignoring all of their security measures and doing whatever it wanted.

"It's Grimmjow!" Yoruichi's reply made his brain freeze up for a second. All Urahara could think of was 'Why him?' and 'Whatever could _he_ have wished for?'

"Everything was fine at first!" she continued, unaware of his momentary lapse of focus. "He and Byakuya were bitching at each other, but then he looked like he was getting a headache and next thing I know he just keels over!"

Urahara clenched his jaw. "Aizen," he addressed the captive. "How is this possible? I believe you said it recognized only Ichigo as its master?"

"Indeed I did," he calmly acknowledged, that infuriating smile still on his lips. "However, that doesn't mean it will only grant _his_ wishes. If someone else has a strong desire which the Hogyoku believes its master would want to see realized, it will do so." He leaned back in his chair. "Do not ask me what the wish is, however. I would not know, though I doubt it is anything that would warrant your concern." The corner of his mouth turned upward just a little. "But I must admit: I am curious as to what desire dear Grimmjow would want realized."

Urahara was sure of it now. Someone out there was fucking with him.

* * *

As Ichigo looked on, his Inner World steadily rebuilt itself under the Hogyoku's influence. The formerly featureless surface he was standing on had transformed itself into glass, then concrete, and quickly spread out around him until an entire building had been created from nothingness. Eventually this process had reached the 'ground', which from Ichigo's point of view was sideways, and began forming streets complete with trees and sidewalks. In the distance, more skyscrapers were already rising up, the sunlight from a nascent sun glinting off their windows.

"So... You're saying you're _not_ Zangetsu?" Ichigo questioned the spirit standing behind him.

The old man joined him at the edge of the building, his tattered cloak fluttering behind him despite the absence of any wind. No, he spoke in his deep, rumbling voice. I am not.

"Hmm," Ichigo hummed. The scowl had returned once again. "And you're not the manifestation of my Shinigami powers either?"

That too, is correct.

Ichigo nodded slowly in acknowledgment, biting his lip. "So you're not the Shinigami _or_ the Hollow part of my soul, leaving you with... what, exactly?"

It is not my place to say, 'Zangetsu' answered cryptically. That is a discussion you should have with your father.

"So, to sum it up," Ichigo grit out, just barely managing to reign in his temper, "you won't tell me jack shit?"

A pause. I am sorry, Ichigo, the spirit eventually continued, sounding despondent. But there is a reason I bring this up now, despite how little I can tell you. 'Zangetsu' looked out over the reforming cityscape. The Hogyoku, he began, is restructuring your soul to match the desired image you have of it. Which is why... it will destroy you.

It felt as if the floor had disappeared from underneath his feet once again. "W- What?" Half-completed skyscrapers seemed to freeze in time at Zangetsu's revelation.

Your Shinigami abilities do not belong with me, Ichigo. Forcefully transplanting them, as the Hogyoku intended to do, would cause your soul to tear itself apart, the man spoke gravely. Those abilities rightfully belong with your pale counterpart.

The problem with that statement quickly dawned on Ichigo. "But... if he has my Hollow _and_ Shinigami abilities... then what does that leave you with? Which part of my soul are you?"

Zangetsu only maintained his silence. "Right. I should ask dad about that, huh?" Ichigo breathed out through his nose, trying not to get too aggravated.

Ichigo...

"Can it!" the teen snapped, cutting 'Zangetsu' off. "I'll talk to him. And until I do, you just stay put and keep quiet." He stepped away from the edge. "So don't even think about going anywhere," he ordered.

The spirit looked back at Ichigo, and for the first time since Ichigo had met him, his expression showed surprise.

"What, you think I can't tell?" He looked sternly at what he had always thought to be his Zanpakuto. "I know you. You probably think you've betrayed me or something, but I honestly couldn't care less." The ever-stoic spirit could only stare at Ichigo. Even his cloak had stopped fluttering in the non-existent breeze.

"You've always supported me, so I really don't give a rat's ass what your real name is. To me, you're Zangetsu, and this is where you belong." As if that decided the matter, he left the stunned man behind and headed for an area with a little more room to move about. "Now be quiet. I've got another idiot to deal with."

In the background, the reconstruction process started up again. Now that Ichigo was armed with proper knowledge of how his soul was made up, the Hogyoku worked to account for it. A few buildings that had already been completed were rapidly torn back down, only to be rebuilt with the most minute of differences. Ichigo noticed one skyscraper had more windows per floor now. Others had a different number of stories from before. All the way down on ground level, Ichigo saw that even the trees lining the streets hadn't been spared from the alterations, and what he could swear had been a massive oak earlier was now suddenly a pine tree.

How any of this was supposed to affect how his abilities worked, Ichigo had no idea, and frankly could not have interested him less at the moment.

As he looked down at his reflection in a window pane, another Ichigo stared back at him. It blinked synchronously with him, but when he opened his eyes again, the reflection's sclera had become black as ink, while his irises had turned yellow.

_Yo,_ the other Ichigo sneered at him. He spoke in a higher-pitched mimicry of the original's voice. _Long time no see, King._

His inner Hollow fell forward, making the glass ripple like the surface of a pond as he fell into it. He rose up on the other side, suddenly dressed in a pure-white Soul Reaper uniform, and landed softly on his feet in front of Ichigo.

"Great. _You're_ back," the teen muttered in disdain.

_So you told him, huh?_ He addressed 'Zangetsu', disregarding Ichigo's less-than-enthused greeting. _Guess I should be grateful._

I told him the bare minimum he needed to know, the old man replied, not even turning to look at the Hollow. It is up to his father to tell him the rest.

The Hollow looked from _not-_ Zangetsu to Ichigo, who had now also turned his back to him and began walking away. His usual grin began to fade. _What, you're both just gonna ignore me?_

"I don't have time to deal with your crap," Ichigo called out as he left the pair behind. "I just left Grimmjow and Byakuya behind in the same room. If they haven't killed each other yet, they will soon." And with that statement, Ichigo closed his eyes, focused for a moment, and vanished from his inner world, leaving the two spirits behind.

The Hollow stared at the spot where he'd disappeared. _… I think I liked him better when he was still scared of me._ He looked back at where he thought his companion to be. _He's always been uptight, but now he's just- Old man?_

The skyscraper was abandoned, aside from himself. _Well, so much for the welcome-_ _home_ _party,_ he thought dejectedly.

_S_ ome clouds drifted by, and the wind that had suddenly picked up ruffled his uniform. _Screw those guys,_ he thought, and left to go find a rock he could kick.

* * *

Ichigo opened his eyes, staring up at a ceiling that was becoming increasingly familiar. This was the- what? Fifth time he'd woken up in Grimmjow's room? Seriously, it was starting to turn into a bad habit. Passing out so often really couldn't have been good for his health.

A quick glance to the side revealed he wasn't alone- the second futon was taken up by the room's usual resident. The man appeared to be fast asleep.

Seeing as Grimmjow was already in bed, Ichigo wondered how late it was. He didn't believe he could trust his own sense of time. While from his perspective he'd spent less than an hour in his inner world, for all he knew it was nighttime already back on the material plane.

Not wanting to wake Grimmjow, he quietly got up and tiptoed toward the door, only making it halfway there before his stomach suddenly made a sound not unlike a Void Call.

Ichigo groaned and nearly sunk to his knees at what felt like a black hole opening up inside his belly. The word 'hunger' didn't come anywhere near to describing Ichigo's sudden desperate need for sustenance. It felt like every cell in his body would wither and die if he didn't find something he could eat within the next five seconds.

That was when the smell of food hit his nostrils.

Like a gift from the heavens themselves, a large plate of sandwiches accompanied by a basket of mini-muffins stood on the table in the corner. Ichigo mindlessly sprinted toward the food and grabbed a sandwich, almost swallowing it whole. It wasn't until he'd already downed four of them in a row that some semblance of rational thought returned to him.

_'What the Hell am I doing?'_ he asked himself, yet it didn't even occur to him to stop eating. All he managed was to slow his pace just enough to actually have some time to chew the things he put into his mouth. His brain seemed to have made an executive decision that Ichigo was going to consume everything in sight that seemed even the slightest bit edible, whether he liked it or not.

When he finished the plate of easily a dozen sandwiches and was already well on his way scarfing down the muffins, he noticed a pitcher of orange juice and decided to grab that too. Not bothering with a glass, he lifted the whole thing to his lips and greedily chugged it all down. Some of the juice overflowed and dribbled down his chin, but that barely even registered in the midst of his eating binge.

Grimmjow's gruff, annoyed-sounding voice however, did. "Kurosaki, what the hell are you doing?"

Almost choking, Ichigo quickly lowered the pitcher and turned around. A very tired- and disheveled-looking Grimmjow was glaring at him with squinted eyes. Ichigo coughed up some partially-chewed muffin mixed with orange juice into his hand.

Grimmjow's expression quickly morphed into one of disgust.

Embarrassed, Ichigo hurriedly put down the pitcher and with some effort, managed to swallow what remained in his mouth. "Sorry," he muttered as he looked for some napkins to clean up with. If he hadn't still been so damn hungry, he probably would have been mortified. As it was tough, he was finding it hard to care as much as he probably should have, and was more worried about finding something else to sink his teeth into.

While he wiped his hands and lips clean, he could hear Grimmjow getting to his feet in the background. He was just about to apologize for his aberrant behavior when some abnormally quick and heavy footsteps alarmed him. He was just in time to see Grimmjow stumble into the wall and slowly slide down against it until he was on his knees.

Managing to force the thoughts of food to the back of his mind, Ichigo rushed over to help him up. "Hey, you alright? Are you dizzy?"

The Arrancar pulled himself up using Ichigo's shoulders. "How did I get here?" Grimmjow demanded breathlessly. Then, with some more anger powering his voice he asked: "Did that shopkeeper do this to me?!"

"I don't know!" Ichigo hurriedly replied. "I just woke up so... wait, don't tell me something went wrong with the Hogyoku?" Panic welled up within him. "Aizen didn't escape did he?!" He had to get to Urahara. Urahara would know, Urahara would-

"Please calm down, both of you." Sliding open the paper door and carrying another tray loaded with food in his hands, the man in question calmly strode into the room. "Everything is fine."

After making sure Grimmjow could remain standing unassisted, Ichigo joined Urahara at the table. "So does that mean Aizen's back in the Muken?" Urahara nodded, prompting the teen to sigh in relief. "Then what's wrong with Grimmjow? Did he get into a fight with Byakuya or something?"

"He didn't, though certainly not for lack of trying on his part," Urahara cheerily said. He shoved the tray over to Ichigo. "Eat. You'll need a lot of energy to build up your Reiryoku again."

Only then did Ichigo realize. Though he was still positively starving, a different kind of emptiness within him had been filled. He could feel that familiar power within him, the power he'd so missed during these last few weeks. It was becoming more noticeable with every passing second.

He would see Rukia again. And Renji, and Byakuya, and everyone else in Soul Society. It was impossible to hold back a smile.

His stomach loudly voiced its displeasure at being ignored, so Ichigo once again got to work shoveling food down his throat. "So what happened to him?" Ichigo asked with a full mouth, tilting his head in Grimmjow's general direction.

Urahara pursed his lips, seeming to consider what would be the best way to break the news. Grimmjow meanwhile had sat back down on his bed, and was massaging his scalp with a pained expression on his face. The controlled mess that was his hair had turned into the mother of all bedheads during his nap, and the rubbing wasn't exactly making it any better.

In a low voice, Urahara spoke: "The Hogyoku reached out to him." For the second time in less than five minutes, Ichigo's meal nearly went down the wrong tube. "Aizen told me. According to him, the Hogyoku will grant other people's wishes if it believes its master would want it to." He leaned in a little closer. "Do you have any idea what Grimmjow could possibly have wanted from it? Even subconsciously perhaps?"

Drawing a blank, Ichigo shook his head. "No. At least nothing that _I_ would want to happen."

"Alright. In that case, we'll just keep a very close eye on him, and hope this doesn't come back to hurt us."

He got up, leaving Ichigo alone at the table. "Come back downstairs when you're finished eating. And if you can, try to get some answers out of Grimmjow." He began to walk away, but stopped and added: "Subtly, preferably." He slid the door shut behind him.

Ichigo turned to Grimmjow next, finding him pretty groggy, still. "How are you feeling?"

"Like something in my head is trying to _hatch,_ " he bit out. "Fucking hell..."

Deciding to go with the subtle approach, Ichigo figured he should first find out just how much Grimmjow already suspected. The last thing he wanted was for the Espada to lose his temper upon finding out that he had unknowingly been in the same room as Aizen. "Do you know what happened in the basement earlier?"

Grimmjow looked at Ichigo, squinting as the light from the ceiling lamp hit his eyes. "It was Aizen, wasn't it? In the box?" he cursed again when Ichigo confirmed it. Apparently, he'd worried for nothing. "I knew it. Only that piece of shit magic rock in his chest could make me feel like this."

"Did it do anything to you?"

There was a pause as Grimmjow checked himself over. "I don't know... it might have." He nodded at the teen. "What about you?"

"It turned my soul into a construction site," Ichigo deadpanned. "Still, I feel pretty good, considering."

"So that's why I can feel your Reiatsu again." He displayed a grin that made Ichigo doubt whether he was mocking him, or if he was simply amused. "Congratulations."

"Guess I can finally give you that rematch, huh?" Ichigo quipped. "Though you'd better get some rest first. The way you are now, I bet I'd just wipe the floor with you."

He received a half-hearted 'fuck you' with the proper accompanying gesture in return. Even so, Grimmjow laid back down on the bed and closed his eyes, holding an arm over his eyes to block out the light.

Having finished his meal, Ichigo decided to follow after Urahara. "I'm going back downstairs," he informed the resting Grimmjow, making sure to keep his voice low. "If you need anything, call for Tessai." Just before leaving the room, he switched the lights off. "Enjoy your beauty sleep. You look like you need it."

A single blue eye glared at him from the darkness. Ichigo laughed softly as he slid the door shut. "Goodnight, Grimmjow. Sleep well."

* * *

Grimmjow did _not_ sleep well.

The killer headache from when he was awake had been replaced by a sense of disorientation and a dizziness bordering on vertigo once he crossed over into the realm of sleep.

Even so, this didn't feel like an ordinary dream. He was far too lucid for it to be. Everything felt too real: the sand under his feet, the weak moonlight shining down on him, the almost non-existent breeze softly caressing his face...

It wasn't hard to figure out what this place was, even with his head spinning like it was. Yet, somehow it seemed even more featureless and drab than the Hueco Mundo he knew.

There was nothing for miles around. Only white sand, the odd crystal tree here and there, and the crescent moon. No Las Noches, no other Hollows, not even a goddamn rock or dune to break the landscape's monotony. Just an endless sea of white stretching out in every direction. A distilled version of an empty world.

Grimmjow looked around, trying to get his field of vision to stabilize. He had no idea what he was doing here. Or what he was _supposed_ to do here.

He furrowed his brow. What he was _supposed_ to do? Why had he thought that? Why had he assumed there was a reason for him to be here? What had convinced him that this was more than an ordinary, albeit a vivid and rather boring dream?

He scanned the area once more. Obviously, there was no one around who was going to drop the answer in his lap. That left him with only one thing to do, then.

Grimmjow started walking.

* * *

Though he tried not to let it show too much, inwardly Ichigo was near-ecstatic. It was ridiculous how happy it made him just to be wearing a Soul Reaper uniform again. Feeling the familiar weight of Zangetsu on his back seemed to make all the stress from the past few weeks simply evaporate.

His good mood was rubbing off on his companions: Rukia was happily chattering about this and that, filling him in on what had been happening in Soul Society during his absence. A grinning Renji walked alongside him, having draped an arm over Ichigo's shoulders and occasionally cracking stupid jokes, or elaborating on something Rukia said.

He'd missed them so much. It hadn't even been that long since he last saw them, but it had been a fairly emotional reunion nonetheless.

Even Captain- err, _Commander_ Kyoraku, that is, was merrily whistling a tune as he led the party through the maze that was the Seireitei. Although he'd said they were pressed for time, he believed Ichigo and his friends at least deserved to have the ten or so minutes it would take them to reach the Repentance Tower to catch up. Besides, it probably wasn't wise to have Ichigo do Flash Steps within the first few minutes after becoming a Shinigami again. His Reiatsu hadn't even had time to build up to its usual level again. And so, they had decided to simply walk.

Another thing that wasn't quite as it should have been yet, was Zangetsu. The blade was there of course, and from the faint Reiatsu it emitted Ichigo knew his Zanpakuto spirits- both of them- were dwelling within it. The odd part was that it had wrapped itself up in its own cloth like a cocoon, and no matter what Ichigo tried, he couldn't get it to unwrap itself and reveal the metal underneath. He was sure it was just a matter of time though.

Urahara and Byakuya were also along for the ride, though they brought up the rear of the convoy and mostly stayed quiet. Ichigo was incredibly curious as to why Byakuya's face was covered in bandages (as were both Renji's arms) though the stoic Captain had shrugged him off when asked, saying he would find out in a matter of minutes.

Their merry band had one more member. She had joined them right after they exited the Senkaimon on Soul Society's side. It was quite a shock to say the least; having Nelliel suddenly emerge from a crowd of Shinigami and glomp him with such fervor that she very nearly snapped his neck.

The fact that an Arrancar was allowed to roam around the Seireitei (albeit under supervision) was a testament to how different the Gotei's new leader did things when compared with Yamamoto. He had personally invited her here to act as a liaison between Haven and the Gotei. Like Ichigo, she was here to see what had everyone up in a panic.

While having everyone here provided Ichigo with a much-needed opportunity to reconnect with his friends, as well as catch up on the current happenings, the real reason Kyoraku had gathered all these people together was to show them why the Seireitei had taken such drastic measures as transporting Aizen to the living world, all on a gamble that it would allow Ichigo to regain his powers.

To reveal the reason why Yamamoto hadn't been freed yet. Why Takahashi had not been found, as well as why Urahara had needed to pull several consecutive all-nighters over the course of the week. And now Renji and Byakuya's injuries could be added to that list as well.

The answer to all those questions apparently lay within Rukia's former prison. The holding cell made of Sekkiseki where criminals slated for execution spent their final days: the Senzaikyu, also known as the Repentance Tower.

When they eventually reached the white tower, the easygoing atmosphere faded, and the mood grew noticeably heavier. Renji finally removed his arm from Ichigo's person and readjusted the sword on his hip. Ichigo just managed to spot some blood beginning to seep through the bandages on his forearm.

"From here on out, I want you all on high alert." The Captain-Commander was addressing the entire group, but directed his words more toward Renji and the Kuchiki siblings, who acknowledged the order. Shifting his gaze to Ichigo, Kyoraku said: "You will need to be especially cautious, Kurosaki-san. You are still in the process of gaining back your strength. Don't let your concentration slip for even a second, or you might get overwhelmed."

Nodding, Ichigo followed him past the two saluting guards stationed at the entryway and into the actual cell. He'd never actually seen the inside of this place before now. The last time he had tried to get in, it hadn't ended well thanks to Byakuya's intervention. Thinking back, Ichigo couldn't help but recall what a stubborn, stuck-up prick Byakuya been back then. Of course, he was still all those things, but at least he'd gotten better.

For what was such a high-profile building, Ichigo was a little disappointed to discover the inside being so bland. It was to be expected given that this was a prison, but the tall, majestic tower right at the very heart of the Seireitei had always appealed to Ichigo's imagination.

It was a symbol of the Seireitei, one of Soul Society's most recognizable features. Seeing that it contained only a single drab, circular room made from grayish-white sekkiseki stone was a bit of a letdown. At least the view from the tiny, slitted windows was impressive. You could look out over nearly the entire Seireitei from here. No doubt you'd be able to see even further if you followed the stairs running along the wall upward to go and look through the highest windows, but unfortunately their guide was taking them further down instead.

Ichigo absently noted that the guards sealed the door and locked them all inside the tower once everyone had entered. He had expected there to be a prisoner in here, but the tower appeared to have been completely empty before they got here. But if that was true, then why was the exit being closed off? Once they reached the lowermost level, which was just empty space encircled by the stairway, the answer quickly became clear.

Kyoraku walked toward the center of the tower and waited for the others to join him. Once everyone was accounted for, he reconfirmed that they were all fully prepared and alert before squatting down and touching the floor with his palm. "Open."

At his command, a circular section of the floor- which had seemed completely solid and seamless earlier, began to sink into the ground, segmenting itself into steps. Before their eyes, a spiraling stairway revealed itself, leading to a hidden, lower level of the tower. Ichigo and Nel, clearly the only ones there who hadn't known of this secret compartment, shared a surprised look, but wordlessly followed after the others as they descended along the newly-created path.

They moved lower and lower, far beyond where Ichigo had guessed the base of the structure to be. Apparently, a large section of the tower was buried underground- quite a feat considering how high up the tower was. At least twenty meters of it, Ichigo estimated from how long it had taken them to reach the bottom. And from the telltale, mildly discomforting sensation he got from the walls and floor, all of it was made of pure Sekkiseki.

This had seemed somewhat strange to Ichigo. After all, the massive wall surrounding the Seireitei was made from the same material, and it created a nearly impenetrable, dome-shaped barrier around the entire city. Why didn't the same phenomenon occur here?

Now he could see why. The energy was simply being redirected. As they entered the secret prison-within-a-prison, Ichigo could see five massive spikes, also made from the elusive, Reiatsu-blocking material reaching down from the ceiling all the way to the floor. They gave off a pale white-blue light, and energy crackled and arced rather loudly in between the spikes every now and then. All of it was being pumped into something on the floor, but Ichigo could not make out what it was just yet. A white-haired figure in a Captain's robe was blocking whatever it was from view.

"How are you holding up, Juushiro?" Kyoraku asked amiably.

Ukitake's head snapped upward, obviously caught unawares, suddenly receiving so many visitors. "Oh! Everyone, what a pleasant surprise!" He smiled warmly at the group, turning around just enough so he could look at them, without moving from his position.

Ichigo saw that he had his hands wrapped around a tall, roughly cylindrical metal object. He also noticed the same traces of fatigue on Ukitake's visage as those Urahara bore. As a bonus, there was some dried blood on the corner of his mouth, eliciting some concern from Ichigo.

"Let me get that," Kyroraku offered, producing a handkerchief from his robes and using it to wipe off the blood.

Ukitake muttered a 'thank you', softly complaining about 'not being able to let go of the blasted thing for even a second'. It was only when Ichigo stepped fully inside the chamber that he noticed the six Kido corps members lurking in the shadows. None of them acknowledged the group entering, remaining absolutely still. Like they were part of the decor.

He was now close enough to see the tip of one of the spikes: it was exactly long enough for its tip to reach the floor... after drilling through what appeared to be a human foot. That- that was a little disturbing.

"Kurosaki-san, please join us." Kyoraku beckoned for Ichigo to come closer. "Miss Nelliel, you too if you would. Be careful, though. Don't touch anything."

More than a little apprehensive, he and Nel approached the two captains. It turned out that the foot was indeed attached to a body. Lying in the center of the room, with its hands, feet and neck skewered and pinned to the ground by the Sekkiseki spikes, like a frog being dissected for a Biology class, was what Ichigo could only describe as a well-preserved mummy.

There was barely any muscle or fat on the corpse, and every single bone could be seen poking through the skin. The ribcage especially stood out, with the skin drawn so tight around the ribs that it looked like it would split open at any second. In contrast, the stomach area was smooth and completely caved in. As his eyes drifted lower, Ichigo noticed the complete absence of genitals of any kind. It was almost like someone had used an emaciated, hairless Barbie-doll to recreate a scene from the Crucifixion.

Nelliel was horrified when she saw the corpse, but unknown to Ichigo, for entirely different reasons than he was.

"This," Kyoraku spoke, drawing their attention, "is the root source of our troubles." He gestured toward the strangely androgynous- sexless, rather- mummy. Its skin was charred black around the puncture sites in its limbs and neck, but was stark white everywhere else.

"Meet the god of Hueco Mundo," the man proclaimed somewhat dramatically. "The first-ever known Hollow Lord: Angra Mainyu."

Ichigo had to take a moment to let that sink in. "Wha- wait," he eventually sputtered, "You're saying this thing is the Hollow _GOD_?"

"I wouldn't know what else to call it," the Head Captain shrugged. "When it and its endless legions of Hollows attacked Soul Society over a thousand years ago, it wiped out nearly every single Soul Reaper along with a good chunk of the population of Plus souls.

"It took everything Yama-ji had, along with the help of the most powerful Soul Reapers of the time to bring him down, and even then it was a _very_ close victory. Even after they killed it, it just kept coming back to life, no matter what they did to it. We've been trying to destroy it for over a millennium now with no success. Even the Sokyoku, a weapon with the power of a million Zanpakuto, forged for that exact purpose, could not purify Angra here."

He put a hand on Ukitake's shoulder. "The best we can do is try and have it stay dead, or at least immobile. For the past millennium, Yama-ji's been taking care of that. Unfortunately, with him gone, Juushiro is the only Shinigami in the Gotei who comes even close to having enough Reiatsu as well as the necessary control over it to do so."

He leveled his gaze at Ichigo. "That's where you come in, Kurosaki-san."

Ichigo's gaze was again drawn to the metal cylinder in Ukitake's grasp. It too had been brutally inserted into the Hollow Lord's body. The object's sharp end entered through its sternum but unlike the five Sekkiseki spikes, didn't pierce all the way through.

"This tool," Ukitake spoke lowly, taking over from Kyoraku, "is called the Longinus. Specifically, it is the twenty-sixth incarnation of the Longinus, having been developed by Captain Kurotsuchi after making some improvements to Urahara-san's model number twenty-five."

"And he did a terrific job with it, too!" Urahara cut in happily. "The built-in Reiatsu-amplifier he added pretty much saved us. Without it not even Ukitake-san would have been able to power it."

"Getting back on topic," Kyoraku interrupted the scientist before he could get into a long-winded explanation, "This tool is our only means of keeping Angra Mainyu down. Through a complicated mechanism, it injects the user's Reiatsu into Angra in a highly concentrated burst, essentially fracturing its soul before it can fully repair itself. And while Juushiro is the best we have, even he can't fully power the Longinus. All we're doing now is delaying his resurrection for as long as possible.

"Hopefully, he can buy us enough time to find someone who can." The pair looked meaningfully at Ichigo.

"You want me to power it." It wasn't a question. "That's why you did all this- why you even brought Aizen to the living world."

Ichigo had known that they needed something from him, otherwise Soul Society never would have gone through so much trouble just to have him regain his powers. But this? Wasn't this going too far?

Even if they told him that this was the Hollow Lord, a supposed nigh-unstoppable force of destruction and evil, Ichigo didn't get that impression from looking at the shriveled, maimed corpse lying at his feet. He wasn't going to blindly follow Soul Society's request just because they did him a favor- which was really the least they could have done for him given everything that happened. It wasn't like he owed them anything.

Before he could make a decision, he needed more information.

"Alright, you're telling me this is the god of Hueco Mundo, that he's been dead for over a thousand years, and that he's going to resurrect sometime soon and go on a rampage unless we stop him, right?" he summarized. "How do I know you're telling the truth? For all I know, this is all some ploy by Central 46 to get me to rip some political prisoner's soul to shreds." Saying this to the Commander of the Gotei may have been out of line, but if they were going to ask him to do something like this, they had better have a damn good explanation ready.

The two Captains looked at each other, and to Ichigo's surprise, smiled. When questioned, Ukitake elaborated: "We hadn't expected you to simply take things at face value, of course. We're honestly relieved to see you exercising some due caution." Ukitake's kind expression never wavered, but it was honestly somewhat off-putting considering he was simultaneously driving the Longinus into the cadaver on the ground.

"Unfortunately, the danger this creature poses is very real," Ukitake continued. "Just the merest signs of its awakening have already urged its servants into action, and we are already feeling the effects."

Footsteps behind Ichigo signaled Byakuya's approach. He unwrapped the bandages around his head as he neared the group crowding around the body. "This is the result of our attempts at freeing the Head Captain from Izanagi's Seal," he said, now holding a bunched up, bloody bandage. Ichigo couldn't help but stare as he laid eyes on Byakuya's countenance, and even Nel who had remained silent this whole time was unable to stifle a gasp.

The entire left side of his face was marred by a black and purple blight. Three gruesome, parallel cuts- tears, rather- ran from the corner of his mouth up to his left ear. The thing was, the corner of his mouth was now located halfway up his cheek. A two-centimeter strip of flesh was simply gone, leaving a window that showed off Byakuya's left canines and premolars. The edges of the grisly wounds were black, necrotic flesh. The color of his skin shifted from black to purple and finally back to healthy pink as you got further away from the site of the cuts. The wounds were still slowly weeping blood.

"I led an entire regiment of highly trained Soul Reapers into battle. There were thirty-seven of us, against just one enemy. Six died, over twenty were injured, and our adversary didn't sustain more than a few scratches while successfully preventing us from reaching the Seal." Byakuya paused for a moment to let his words sink in. "The outcome would have been even worse if it hadn't been for Renji's quick thinking."

Ichigo absently noted how Renji tried to hide a rueful smile as he was praised for something that had still cost six people their lives.

"And that was just our first attempt." Kyoraku's words drew Ichigo's attention away from Byakuya. "There were two more excursions that also ended in failure. Captain Zaraki still hasn't been able to leave the sickbay, though he seems to be slowly recovering."

Ichigo's thoughts went from _'So that's why he wasn't there to challenge me to a fight when I arrived,_ _'_ to ' _Holy shit, something_ _managed to take_ _down Kenpachi?'_

"Wait, how long has it been since then?" he asked, realizing something.

"Exactly one week since Captain Kuchiki's attempt," Kyoraku informed him. "Five days for Zaraki."

"Then why aren't they healed yet?"

"These wounds are cursed." Byakuya raised a hand to his face. "They don't heal normally, and healing Kido has proven completely ineffective." With just the slightest hint of annoyance, he added: "Although Captain Zaraki's massive Reiatsu appears to be helping him recover."

"Speaking of which," Kyoraku cut in, "Zaraki is another potential candidate for powering the Longinus, though we're not holding out much hope for that, for obvious reasons..."

Ichigo could easily imagine what those reasons were. From what he'd just heard, using the tool required a fair bit of control over your Reiatsu, and Kenpachi possessed all the delicacy of a stampeding rhino. On top of that, knowing the man's personality, he would probably rather fight Angra Mainyu himself than actively contribute to keeping him incapacitated.

"Aside from you two, only Yama-ji, Aizen and most likely Takahashi possess the required amount of Reiatsu. We can't get at Yama-ji without sending in more forces than we can spare, and even if we could find Takahashi, I wouldn't be wiling to trust him with this. And as for Aizen... What we did earlier today was one thing, but allowing him to use the full scope of his Reiatsu?" Kyoraku smiled wryly at Ichigo. "I believe I would rather fight three Hollow Lords by myself, naked and unarmed. Which makes you the best chance we have, Kurosaki-san."

Ichigo closed his eyes and let out a heavy breath he hadn't known he was holding. It was a lot to take in all at once. He looked at his companion, who had remained silent during the whole exchange. "Nel? What do you think of all this?"

She jumped when he addressed her. Quickly glancing at him before turning her gaze back on Angra Mainyu, she opened and closed her mouth a few times, struggling to get the words out. "I... I feel like I know this... _thing,_ " she stammered. Ichigo was unnerved to see her hands shaking. "I feel like _it_ knows _me_!" She touched a hand to her cracked mask, shaking her head. "I can't stay here; I'd like to go outside," she told Kyoraku, a hint of desperation in her voice.

"Nel, are you okay?" Ichigo gently touched her shoulder, trying to reassure her. "You don't have to worry; this thing's harmless right now, it can't hurt y-" Just then, he happened to look into Angra Mainyu's milky-white, clouded dead eyes.

They stared back.

"Gah!" With a sharp cry, all the air was forcibly expelled from his lungs. He clutched at his chest, as his heart suddenly felt like it was caught in a vice and about to burst, leaving behind nothing but useless, bloody chunks in his chest cavity.

He couldn't breathe; his lungs simply refused to allow any air back in. His diaphragm was contracting so forcefully it actually hurt.

Worst of all were the maddening screams now echoing within his head. A million voices cried out in agony, raving madly and seeming to claw at the inside of Ichigo's skull.

_What the hell is this?!_ Even though he'd clenched his eyes shut, the image of those pale, lifeless eyes suddenly acquiring pitch-black irises with slitted pupils remained burned into his retinas. That terrible, horrendous black void lurking within their depths, threatening to swallow up and destroy everything he was...

He bit his lip hard enough to draw blood in an attempt snap out of it. As he blindly stumbled backwards, he became vaguely aware of someone grabbing his arm and forcibly dragging him toward the room's sole entrance. Away from Angra.

"-chigo! Ichigo!" Someone slapped him. His eyes regained focus, and Nelliel's panicked face came into view. The voices tapered off, leaving only a faint ringing in his ears. Suddenly he could breathe again.

"W- what just happened?" Nel sighed in relief. Behind her, Ichigo could see how Renji, Rukia, and Byakuya had formed a physical wall between the two of them and the Hollow Lord. Two Kido corps members had taken to using Kaido to replenish Ukitake's Reiatsu as he once again activated the Longinus in an attempt to do as much damage to the supposedly-dead demon as he could.

"That thing's dangerous," Nelliel almost growled. She too was still shaking. "Evil. We can't allow it to come back... we can't, no matter what!"

After this, Ichigo was tempted to agree.

Just now, he had seen a glimpse of what the god of Hueco Mundo truly was... a maelstrom of tortured souls, millions of them, corrupted beyond any hope of salvation by all the evils this world had to offer. The mere fact that a creature like this existed made Ichigo realize what a truly messed up place this world was.

"No." He swallowed, steeling himself for what was to come. "We can't."


	16. Chapter 16

### Chapter 15: First Contact

Ichigo never imagined he would feel relieved to find himself in Hueco Mundo, of all places.

The events in Angra's chamber continued to prey on his mind throughout the days following the incident, so it had seemed like a good idea for him to try and distract himself from _that_ particular mindfuck. Therefore, since he had been curious about this place ever since his first time hearing about it, and Nelliel was settling into her role as a liaison between Shinigami and Arrancar quite nicely, Ichigo and Rukia had decided to come visit Haven as per her invitation.

As he and Rukia followed Nel along a path between the many rows of tents that made up the encampment, Ichigo had to admit it was working. Finally seeing it with his own eyes was a remarkable experience. He'd never seen so many Arrancar gathered together in one place before. He'd also never seen so many Arrancar who didn't try to murder him on sight, either.

While quite a few of them didn't seem too happy about two Soul Reapers playing tourist in their supposedly secret subterfuge, at least they weren't being outright hostile. Whether that was because they knew who Ichigo was or because Nelliel - who was one of their leaders - was accompanying them, he wasn't sure. Probably a bit of both.

It was pretty much as Grimmjow had described: an entire village, made up of nothing but tents. Nice ones to be sure, made of sturdy cloth and ranging in size from just a few square meters all the way up to ones the size of Ichigo's entire living room, but tents nonetheless. Undoubtedly, the residents had to be lacking some basic necessities.

Even so, the Arrancar seemed to have made the best of their situation. There was quite a bit of diversity among the many different residences: some had been dyed in bright colors to set them apart from the standard white specimens, others had been reinforced with wood or metal, and quite a few had even been embroidered with unique designs by their owners. Even though some of them had become veritable works of art, that still didn't change the fact that they were emergency housing at best. Many things that had been taken for granted while living in Las Noches were simply not available here.

Although Ichigo spotted some of the Arrancar eating fresh Hollow meat as their group walked past, they were still largely dependent on the food stores left behind within the abandoned fortress, Nelliel had explained. Without those, they would quickly hunt the Hollows in the surrounding areas to extinction in an attempt to keep everyone fed. Sooner or later, they were going to be forced to move back there, even if it meant risking another attack by someone like Takahashi... or worse.

The fact that it was always night out here in the open, away from the artificial sky over Las Noches, was yet another inconvenience. That, at least, had been mostly remedied by the many campfires and burning torches spread throughout the camp. At first, Ichigo had worried that the smoke would give away Haven's location, but upon closer inspection that fear was proven unfounded.

Every single 'flame' in the camp was actually a luminescent haze of Reiatsu, emitted by special, obsidian stones that the Arrancar charged up with their own Spirit Energy. As a result, just about every color imaginable had representation somewhere. Everywhere Ichigo looked, a differently colored flame lit up the surrounding area. It was a spectacular sight.

The fact that Grimmjow hadn't said one word about this amidst all his bitching about the inconveniences of living here proved just what a spoiled brat he really was.

As they walked further into the camp, they passed by many tents whose occupants came out to observe the new arrivals, some of them waving at Nelliel as she walked past. Most of the Arrancar here Ichigo didn't recognize. He hadn't seen all that many to begin with during the war, and most of those he did had perished. It was therefore a little overwhelming to see that there were easily a couple hundred of them gathered here.

Of course, considering these people had been guarding Las Noches, an area the size of a major city, it shouldn't have come as a surprise that there were at least this many of them.

On their way to the officers' tent, where they would find Tia Harribel, Ichigo did manage to catch a glimpse of the Arrancar who had been captured and tortured for information by Takahashi a while back. He appeared to be in good shape, and respectfully inclined his head at Ichigo when their eyes met. There didn't seem to be any permanent damage, as far as Ichigo could tell from a glance.

"Lady Nelliel? I hadn't expected you to return quite so soon." Yet another somewhat familiar face emerged from the crowd. Ichigo vaguely recalled seeing her once before, though he couldn't quite remember where. All he knew was that she was one of Harribel's three Fracción- the calmest of the bunch, if he wasn't mistaken.

"Sung-sun!" Nelliel hurried to greet her and made the necessary introductions. The olive-haired woman gave Ichigo a rather critical once-over, but politely shook his and Rukia's hands nonetheless. "Is Tia in the officers' tent?" Nel asked her. "I really need to talk to her- the situation is worse than we thought."

"No, lady Harribel's been going around the camp all day... talking to someone named Layla, I think her name was," she added a little crabbily, lifting her hand so that her long sleeve could cover what Ichigo imagined to be a sour expression. "I take it that means you've discovered what's causing all this trouble?"

"Yes, I'm pretty sure we've found the one responsible." Nelliel furrowed her brow. Clearly she hadn't been quite successful in clearing her mind of Angra either. "Anyway, I don't think I've ever heard of this Layla before," she muttered distractedly. "And here I thought I'd memorized everyone's names and faces..."

"You don't know her either, Lady Nelliel?" Sung-sun questioned, forgetting to hide her face and showing open surprise. "I've been a little suspicious since I don't recall ever seeing her around Las Noches, but lady Harribel said she knew her so I figured I was just being paranoid..."

Nel looked a little uneasy. "Well, I suppose it is a little strange that neither of us have heard of her... Me and Sung-sun usually deal with providing the refugees from Las Noches with housing and such, so we have the most direct contact with the people here," she explained for Ichigo and Rukia's sake. "But we still shouldn't jump to any conclusions. Who knows, maybe we just happened to overlook her. She could even be a natural-born Arrancar who stumbled upon the camp and tried to blend in." It was rather obvious that Nel herself didn't really believe that either. The timing was just too suspicious. Sung-sun chose not to call her out on it however.

"Either way, I'd like to meet her. I need to see Tia anyway, so let's just sort this out so we can be at ease." The snake-like woman seemed to agree wholeheartedly. After muttering among themselves a little longer, Sung-sun took point and proceeded to guide the group to where she believed Harribel to be. After a couple of wrong turns, courtesy of the many, many Reiatsu signatures in the area throwing off everyone's senses, they finally managed to home in on her. They found Harribel strolling in between the many tents, accompanied by another woman, if her long, wavy black hair was indicative of her gender.

After hearing Yumichika's retelling of his encounter with Charlotte Chuhlhourne, Ichigo wasn't taking any chances.

"Ah, Nelliel. You're back." Harribel greeted her with a subdued, though far from unkind smile. "And you've brought guests, I see."

"It is a pleasure to meet you, lady Harribel." Rukia bowed politely, eliciting a few murmurs from the observing Arrancar. It wasn't every day that they saw a Shinigami, and a fairly high-ranking one at that, bow down to a Hollow.

If Harribel was at all surprised by the display, she certainly did a good job hiding it. Without missing a beat, she inclined her head at Rukia and welcomed her to Haven. Nel formally introduced them all to each other, even though it was apparent that Harribel already knew their names.

"So what did you manage to find out?" the blonde beauty asked Nel, who explained the gist of the situation in hushed tones, mindful of the people watching and listening in.

As the pair whispered among each other, Ichigo couldn't help but stare at least a little now that he was so close to Harribel. Could anyone blame him though? Even most supermodels had nothing on her. He could only think of maybe two or three women who could hope to compare. While girls had never held all that much interest to him, no healthy young man could possibly remain completely unaffected in the presence of a woman like that.

Unfortunately, his staring didn't go unnoticed by Rukia, whose expression told Ichigo she would be making fun at him for this later, nor by Sung-sun who sent him something of a death glare. Ichigo quickly turned his eyes elsewhere.

Meanwhile, the conversation between the two women wasn't going the way Nel had hoped, Ichigo noted.

"I don't believe it wise to trust the Soul Reapers to such an extent-"

"-not what you said earlier-"

"They could decide to wipe us out at any time-"

"-you talking about? They have no reason to-"

From the snippets of the discussion Ichigo could make out, it was clear that Harribel wasn't quite ready to trust the Soul Society's word. Ichigo couldn't exactly blame her, but he had expected her to be more willing to listen to Nel, at least. And although he didn't know her well enough to be certain, Sung-sun's facial expression betrayed that she didn't seem to have expected this reaction from her mistress either.

Perhaps subconsciously, Sung-sun glanced at Harribel's black-haired companion, who had kept herself on the sidelines during the introductions. Ichigo followed her example, and almost did a double-take.

Just a minute earlier, he had thought that there were perhaps three women he knew that could match Harribel's beauty. Now there were four. Ichigo barely managed to stop himself from gaping at her. _Everything_ about this woman was perfect. Almost eerily so.

The long legs, the slim waistline, the ample bosom... it was hard to believe she was even real. It was almost as if she had been purposely sculpted into the ideal image of a woman. Ichigo was completely mesmerized. And not just him, either: Sung-sun was admiring her as well, though she was being more subtle about it by hiding behind her sleeve again.

The woman wore a long white robe, reminiscent of a dress, that showed off just a bit of cleavage while remaining rather conservative otherwise. A veil obscured the lower half of her face, but what Ichigo _could_ see was just as breathtaking as the rest of her. She had long eyelashes, thin, sculpted eyebrows, and maroon eyes like glowing embers. Her thick, wavy dark hair stopped just short of getting in her eyes.

He had expected Rukia to laugh at him again, but even she couldn't seem to tear her eyes away. Layla herself didn't seem to have much interest in them however. Either she simply hadn't noticed the three of them staring at her, or she was feigning obliviousness.

Ichigo reluctantly looked away when he noticed Nel approaching. She seemed thoroughly disappointed, a little hurt even, by the conversation she just had with Harribel. "I don't know what's gotten into her," she spoke sadly, shaking her head. "Just this morning, she was happy that I was going to Soul Society to find out what's going on. Now she suddenly thinks the Shinigami are trying to trick us- that they might be trying to 'neutralize the threat we pose' by killing the remaining Arrancar. Even after I told her about Angra!"

As if she was looking for someone to blame for Harribel doing a complete one-eighty, she frowned at Layla, to whom the blonde had started speaking again. "Maybe this is just me being vindictive, but something about that woman rubs me the wrong way."

Inexplicably, Ichigo felt a faint annoyance rising up when Nelliel spoke badly of Layla. Why though? Nel was his friend; Layla on the other hand he'd never even spoken to. His only relation to her was the fact that he had been ogling her for the past five minutes.

The very moment that seed of suspicion sprouted, it was as if a fog in his head began to clear. He looked around, only now realizing that the background noise from the Arrancars' hustle and bustle had been strangely muted up to now. Blinking stupidly, he shook his head to come back to his senses.

"Ichigo? What is it?" Nelliel asked, a little thrown off by his strange behavior.

"I'm... not entirely sure," he muttered hesitantly. Something wasn't right. The effect was subtle, to be sure. Even now, Ichigo was doubting whether it wasn't just his mind playing tricks on him, yet it was undeniable that this 'Layla' commanded an almost unnatural degree of attention from the people around her. Rukia and Sung-sun were _still_ staring at her as if they were entranced. Ichigo himself found he had to make a conscious effort to stop himself from looking at her. His gaze continued to be drawn to her like a magnet.

Harribel was acting differently from her usual self too, he recalled, and her change in behavior had suspiciously coincided with Layla's arrival in the camp. Ichigo doubted it was a mere coincidence. Leaning in closer to Nel, he relayed his suspicions to her in low tones. "I think she's doing something... I'm just not sure what," he whispered, eliciting a hum of agreement. Nel too quickly became aware of the strange, hypnotic effect once he pointed it out to her.

Almost as if she sensed the two of them talking about her, Layla threw them a haughty, displeased look. Ichigo made sure to reciprocate with a stern frown of his own. That ethereal aura of perfection she'd had about her earlier was notably diminished. While she was still beautiful by any measure of the word, it was a more 'normal' kind of beauty now, rather than the almost alien radiance she had displayed before.

The longer their eyes remained locked, the more discomforted Ichigo felt. It was as if the woman was hiding something... as if her outward appearance was merely a shell concealing something dark and twisted.

Her eyes... they reminded him of... of-

_-A million pitch-black souls, trapped in a maelstrom of insanity, corrupted by an eternity of pain and suffering-_

Ichigo's breath hitched. "Nel!" he called out.

His warning proved unnecessary. Nel was already moving.

"Tia, get back!" she cried out, her long hair fluttering wildly as she charged towards Layla. Harribel, for her part, was so shocked by Nelliel's sudden display of aggression that she could do little more than stare as she brought her sword down.

With what sounded like metal hitting metal, Layla blocked the sword with her forearm. At first, Ichigo suspected she had hidden a weapon or armor within her sleeve, but the bare flesh visible underneath the newly created rip in her clothes did away with that theory.

"No way..." he muttered under his breath. He had seen Nelliel fight before- against Nnoitra nonetheless. That guy had claimed to have the strongest Hierro among the Espada, and Nelliel had managed to cut through it with only moderate effort. Could it be that Layla's was even stronger?

"Nelliel, what are you doing?!" Harribel demanded, sounding equal parts confused and angry. Seeing a battle commence right in front of their noses had finally gotten Rukia and Sung-sun out of their dazes.

Nelliel grit her teeth as she continued to push against her adversary's arm. "You have to get away from here, Tia! She's messing with your head!"

"What are you talking about?!" Harribel still hadn't drawn her sword. If her conflicted facial expression was anything to go by, that was because she hadn't decided yet which of the two women she should be using it on. "Nelliel, this is absurd! Stop this right now!"

A pained look crossed Nelliel's features. Just a single day in the presence of one of Angra's servants, and one of her closest, wisest companions had already lost faith in her. Even if that was the case however, that didn't change the fact that the enchantress had to die. With a powerful kick to her stomach, Nelliel pushed the woman back even as she simultaneously prepared to fire a Cero after her.

For a second, it looked like Harribel would finally intervene, but Sung-sun hastily interposed herself between her and the two combatants. "Please milady, have faith in Nelliel!" she urged, arms spread wide to halt Harribel's advance. Harribel flinched, and that moment of hesitation was enough for Nel to complete her attack. Not unlike a fire-breathing dragon, a flood of violet light burst forth from her mouth and completely engulfed the woman on the ground.

The entire camp fell silent.

"Aaah, you are more perceptive than I expected, Nelliel Tu Odelschwank." A burst of Reiatsu dispersed Nelliel's Cero, revealing that apart from her clothes being singed, the witch was mostly intact. "A shame. I would have much preferred to bring you over to our side." She tilted her head and leered at Harribel, undoubtedly smiling nastily behind that veil of hers. "Oh well. One out of two isn't bad."

Crying out in pain and shock, Harribel suddenly clutched her head in both hands. Sung-sun hurried to close the distance between the two of them and managed to steady Harribel before she fell over. The pained grunts she wasn't quite able to suppress suggested that whatever Layla was doing to her, she wasn't planning on letting up.

Multiple cries of 'Lady Harribel!' resounded throughout the camp as the nearby Arrancar readied their weapons and converged on the enchantress as one. Ichigo too leaped at the woman, prepared to whack her on the head with the side of his sword if need be, since Zangetsu still didn't seem to want to emerge from his 'cocoon', but as soon as he tried, his brain turned to mush.

"Whu- wha?" was all he managed to get out as he flailed about spectacularly, all control over his motor functions and even speech simply _gone_. He sunk to one knee, barely managing to keep himself from falling over completely like the majority of the Arrancar around him.

Nel and Sung-Sun were in similar positions, and Rukia was- wait, where _was_ Rukia?

Unable to comprehend what was happening, Ichigo could only watch as Layla almost lazily appraised her would-be attackers before focusing her attention back on her prize. Harribel, the only person aside from Layla herself to still be standing, staggered forward, slowly closing in on the witch with a glassy look in her eyes.

"No, Tia!" Nel cried out, attempting to get to her, but only managing to stumble and get a mouthful of sand for her trouble. Harribel paid her no mind and continued to advance toward the waiting Layla, who held out her hand for the blonde to take.

Rukia quickly put a stop to that by appearing behind Harribel in a flicker of Shunpo, holding her hand over the woman's forehead (she had to stand on her tiptoes) and casting Hakufuku. Harribel instantly fell back against Rukia like a puppet with its strings cut, and the petite Shinigami wasted no time in getting her away from the witch.

Said witch clicked her tongue in annoyance. "Pesky little rat." Layla dramatically ran a hand through her long hair and flicked it to the side. Ichigo didn't miss how long and dangerously sharp those nails of hers looked. "You got lucky- that boy's ridiculously wasteful outpouring of Reiatsu is what saved you, isn't it?" She let out a deep, sultry laugh that would have been seductive under different circumstances. "And now you're using _her_ as a living shield against my influence. How positively devious."

Rukia didn't respond. She was too preoccupied with thinking of a way to get out of this mess. Unfortunately, with her being the only one to retain some degree of combat-readiness, _and_ having to watch over the incapacitated Harribel, she didn't have that many options.

And as was usually the case, a bad situation quickly tended to get worse where they were involved: like zombies in a low-budget Horror movie, a horde of Arrancar emerged from behind the tents surrounding them, slowly shambling closer while wearing entirely blank expressions.

Each and every one of them, Ichigo noted, had a purplish-black mark somewhere on their face or neck. The mark looked suspiciously like a set of lips, almost as if they had all been kissed by a woman wearing lipstick.

"Of course. Now I know who you are," Rukia spoke up. Despite the bleakness of the situation, there was no weakness to be found in her voice. Layla raised her eyebrows, looking expectant. "The name alone should have given it away, really," she continued. "You should have picked something a little less blatant than Layla... Lilith."

"I see you've heard of me." Lilith took a theatrical bow, taunting her audience. "I assume you learned my name from the old General? It's a shame he won't be participating in the coming war." Her eyes narrowed in twisted enjoyment. "A shame for your side, that is." She snapped her fingers. "Kill the rat, and bring me my prize," Lilith ordered. Immediately the zombie-like Arrancar closed in on Rukia, drawing their weapons.

Ichigo, as well as Nel and Sung-sun tried their hardest to force their limbs to obey, but all to no avail. Liltih's mind-scrambling influence was simply too strong.

Rukia released Sode-no-Shirayuki, but her Shikai alone would not be enough to protect her against the mob of mind-controlled, bloodthirsty Arrancar. Certainly not when she had to keep Harribel's prone body in between herself and Lilith at all times, or risk being reduced to an incoherent, twitching mess on the ground like the residents of Haven.

She had no hope of victory or escape. She knew that, and resigned herself to fighting until her last breath, taking down as many of Lilith's slaves as she could.

Clearly, she had been far too pessimistic about the outlook of her future.

Before the closest of Lilith's thralls even got within striking range, a bright red Cero blasted away his chest area, leaving his lower body, head, and arms, to fall to the ground separately.

"Now what the ever-loving fuck is _this_?" Freshly-arrived from the living world, Grimmjow casually strolled up to the group, raising an eyebrow at the mind-controlled Arrancar staring dumbly at him.

Outmatched as she was, Rukia didn't even care whether she could trust him or not. "Jaegerjaquez! Unless you want to become a drooling vegetable, get behind Ichigo right now!" she ordered. For a moment it looked like he would argue with her, but as soon as he registered Lilith's influence beginning to mess with his senses he did as he was told.

Ichigo felt an arm around his waist, and was pulled to his feet with a lurch. His head lolled back against Grimmjow's shoulder, and he blinked owlishly at their sudden proximity. "Care to explain this, Kurosaki?" Grimmjow grumbled as Lilith's thralls slowly surrounded them.

"Ish Lilif," Ichigo slurred, speech still not working as it should. "She'sh bad."

Grimmjow stared at him, mouth hanging open. "You know, I honestly didn't believe you could get any slower."

"Blow me." Good. He managed to get that one out properly at least.

"Amusing as this mummer's play is," Lilith interrupted, causing the arguing pair to focus back on her, "I do have other responsibilities that require my attention." With a nonchalant gesture from their mistress, the mind-slaves quickly resumed their approach.

Rukia and Grimmjow – still using Harribel and Ichigo as living shields against Lilith – slowly edged closer toward one another as a veritable wall of zombies converged on them.

"Any plans?" Grimmjow asked Rukia. "'Cause if not..." he threateningly raised a hand, the red glow of a forming Cero finishing the sentence for him.

Rukia eyed the Cero with trepidation. "I'd hold off on that just a bit longer..." she gestured meaningfully at the empty spot behind her ... the same spot where Neliel had been not one minute earlier. "Just be ready. We'll have a clear shot at her any moment now."

The next few seconds were particularly tense for Ichigo, as he felt the ambient temperature drop from Rukia preparing one of her Dances even as the heat of Grimmjow's Cero stung his cheek. All the while the Arrancar-zombies closed what little distance remained, stepping on and over the incapacitated residents of Haven.

They were practically breathing down their necks when a flash of violet light followed by an explosion cut through the unnatural silence permeating the camp.

"Now!" Through some unspoken agreement between the two – one that frankly had Ichigo surprised to see Grimmjow capable of any kind of teamwork – the pair divvied up their targets and executed their respective techniques with brutal efficiency.

"Shi no Mai: Awai Hasu!" Calling out the name of her newest Dance, Rukia drove her sword into the sand, a sheet of solid ice forming around the blade and expanding in every direction, eating away at the desert and leaving behind frozen tundra. Lilith's thralls cried out in pain and shock as massive sheets of ice erupted from the frozen sands like Lotus petals, either shredding the unfortunate victims with their sharp edges or simply encasing them from head to toe in a gelid prison.

Meanwhile, a quick swipe of nails on skin allowed Grimmjow to upgrade his attack from the ordinary red edition to the far more destructive, electric blue version.

Even as Rukia's deadly Pale Lotus was still in the process of blooming, taking out more and more thralls with every new petal that appeared while somehow completely avoiding the helpless Haven Arrancar, Grimmjow let loose the Gran Rey Cero. It tore through both ice and unfortunate victim alike, piercing straight through to where Lilith had been visible before Nelliel's own Cero blast from earlier had created a smokescreen. It didn't make much of a difference whether or not Grimmjow could see her. That was what made a Gran Rey Cero so much fun to use. With that much destructive power at your fingertips, who the hell cared about accuracy?

Though it was hard to make out over the sounds of tiny glaciers forming, multiple explosions and the screams and grunts of the other combatants getting brutalized, Grimmjow still managed to pick up Lilith's pained hiss throughout the cacophony, letting him know he had hit his mark.

No sooner had he completed his attack than did Lilth's influence weaken, and Ichigo's mind _snapped_ back into place.

Brain suddenly _un-_ scrambled, Ichigo immediately wrested back control over himself and upped his Reiatsu output to absurd levels. He emitted a burst of Spirit Energy strong enough to completely overpower Lilith's own lingering Reiatsu, thus allowing Sung-Sun and some others to regain their bearings as well. Grimmjow cringed upon being hit point-blank by such a violent torrent of energy, quickly letting go of Ichigo and backing away.

"Dammit Kurosaki!" he complained, "At least warn me if you're gonna-"

" **How... _DARE YOU?!_ " **

Lilith slowly stood up, a visible haze of white Reiatsu radiating off of her like steam. Ichigo noted that not unlike his own when he was using Bankai, her Reiatsu was occasionally intermixed with streaks of red.

The false pink skin that had covered her limbs and face had melted off, revealing a stark-white exoskeleton underneath. Her veil was gone as well, and Ichigo realized he had been mistaken. The rest of her face was not, in fact, as pretty as the rest of her. Her mouth was almost comically wide, seeming to horizontally bisect her entire face. A Glasgow smile had nothing on it.

There was nothing comical about those teeth however; they were slightly yellowed, sharp as daggers and as if that wasn't enough, she had multiple rows of them, like a shark.

Furthermore, without the false skin covering it, her mask had become visible, revealing that it was predominantly black with some white markings and covered her entire face. Its swirly white, elegant lines became thicker from her jawline down, overtaking black as the primary color by the time they reached her collarbones, allowing for a seamless transition between the obsidian mask and her pure-white body armor.

A good portion of the Haven Arrancar that had just managed to get up went right back down as the violent clash of Ichigo and Lilith's Reiatsu overwhelmed them.

The mind control had lost its effectiveness. Ichigo could feel her trying to trip him up again, but it was useless. It was like attempting to use a magic trick on someone who already knew how it worked: now that Ichigo knew what to expect, resisting her became near effortless.

He swayed one last time from a combination of the aftereffects of the mind control and the exertion from driving his Reiatsu emission through the roof, was steadied by a shockingly helpful Grimmjow, then planted his feet firmly in the sand and took up his cloth-wrapped sword, decidedly pointing the business end at Angra's servant.

In the background, Rukia gently laid Harribel down behind one of the icy petals and froze her wrists and ankles to the ground as a precaution before joining Grimmjow at Ichigo's side. Directly opposite the three of them, Nel had a glowing finger aimed at Lilith's undefended back, while Sung-Sun took up position at the witch's flank.

Together they, as well as some of Haven's more resilient residents, had her firmly surrounded. Lilith's panic started to show through the anger she tried to mask it with.

She was powerful, the weight of her Reiatsu proved that much, but her 'zombies' were now incapacitated, her mind tricks no longer worked, and she was already vastly outnumbered even as more reinforcements came trickling in from the rest of the camp. She snarled furiously, making her look all the more monstrous, and reached into what remained of her robes, taking out a strange, white crown-like object with black lines running across its surface.

Just laying eyes on the thing nearly triggered another flashback to Angra's chamber. It took all of Ichigo's willpower to shut out the wails of tortured souls that called out to him from the object Lilith held in her hand. Ironically, it was another scream that distracted him and broke the effect.

Ichigo turned his head in the direction he had heard the scream from, only to see a purple Bala streaking by like a tiny comet, narrowly missing Sung-Sun's head, barely avoiding Lilith, and finally blasting apart one the Lotus petals, killing a thrall that was trapped in the ice while ripping the arm off another.

_**"Enough, sister. Now is not the time."** _

The voice echoed throughout the camp, seeming to come from everywhere and nowhere. The clinical tone reminded Ichigo of Ulquiorra, oddly enough, yet it lacked the utter apathy and slight drawl of the fallen Quatro.

With a hum of Sonido, a white blur barreled through the crowd, sending several Arrancar flying as it carelessly knocked them aside. The attacker was momentarily halted by Sung-Sun, who swung her _Sai_ at him, but she too was quickly swept to the side with a brutal backhanded blow. The resounding crackle of electricity as the new arrival's fist made contact was painfully familiar to Ichigo. So were the massive clawed hands that had once nearly choked the life out of him, and the glowing, violet eyes behind the spiked mask.

Lilith retained a tight grip on the bone diadem in her hand as she warily assessed the new arrival standing before her. "Who are-?"

Ichigo wasn't sure when or why he had grabbed Grimmjow by the arm. He was just glad he had. The Arrancar was literally bristling, his eyes wild and teeth exposed in a vicious snarl as he glared daggers at Takahashi's armored back. Ichigo could feel how his muscles tensed as he physically shook with barely suppressed bloodlust.

**_"Retreat for now, sister. It is too early in our campaign to put ourselves at risk."_ **

This time, Ichigo managed to pinpoint the voice's origin. A ways beyond the edge of the encampment stood a lone figure: taller than Lilith and nearly as lithe of build, his broader shoulders and more muscular physique nonetheless betrayed him as being male. His upper body was bare, and like his sister, he was clad in white, bony armor. It seemed to be a recurring theme with these top-level Hollows. Additionally, the figure had a mane of wiry black hair, and he wore something unidentifiable on his lower half, something that seemed to consist of many separate strips of ragged fabric, long enough to drag along the ground.

Despite being unable to detect any Reiatsu coming from him, Ichigo knew instinctively that he had to be the same as Lilith: a servant of the evil, withered husk in the Tower. He hadn't expected to be meeting two of them so soon.

_**"Hyperion. Escort my sister out,"**_ the newcomer commanded, raising a hand.

Takashi, or rather the Hollow presently commandeering his body, grunted in pain as shadowy black chains appeared wound all around him. The coils tightened briefly as if to encourage him to follow the order. **"Fine,"** he spit out in obvious distress, **"I'll rescue the whore."**

Clearly displeased with Hyperion's choice of words, the lone figure clenched his fist, making the chains constrict further and even sear Hyperion's skin if the hissing sounds were any indication. Hyperion cried out in agony.

None of the gathered bystanders dared to interfere. Lilith alone had turned half the Arrancar in Haven into drooling vegetables- with two more creatures of comparable power nearby, no-one should have been stupid enough to continue the fight when they were willingly withdrawing.

"I see." Lilith was back to sounding supremely haughty and self-assured, bolstered by her brother's arrival on the scene. "You're the 'prize' Samael spoke of." She tucked the crown safely back into her robes. "I've been curious to see what he managed to find. I must say... you don't disappoint." Smiling seductively- which was just plain creepy with that monstrous mouth of hers- she held out an arm, expecting him to take it. "Shall we?"

Hyperion glowered at her, the glow of his eyes intensifying as his rage threatened to boil over.

A cold that had nothing to do with the ice spread through Ichigo as he was once again subjected to the Vizard's Reiatsu. Unlike with Lilith, he couldn't just shrug it off that easily, even after repeated exposure. Her mind-control was a direct attack on his psyche from an external force. That, he could defend against.

Hyperion's ability on the other hand appealed directly to a basic, primal and vitally important emotion; a defense mechanism that millions of years of evolution had hardwired into his brain. Fear was meant to keep you alive. It wasn't something you could just switch off on command, even when your logical mind knew it was hindering you.

A corner of Lilith's mouth curved upward a little further. It was just about the last reaction Ichigo had expected from someone being buffeted by that sinister aura. Faster than the spectators' eyes could follow, Lilith swiped at Hyperion's neck with her wickedly sharp nails, slicing straight through his armor and Hierro both and severing his right carotid artery. Blood spurted from the wound, peppering the sand with spots of red.

Hyperion flinched and cried out, quickly stepping back while pressing his giant claw-hand against the wound.

"We'll have to work on your manners, however." A long tongue emerged from behind the many rows of teeth, licking the blood of her nails. "I'll make sure to take my time breaking you in," she practically purred.

With a furious roar, Hyperion lunged at her. He let go of his neck and reached out to crush the witch's head between his fingers, revealing that his wound had already regenerated... except that there now seemed to be a dark bruise forming where he had been struck. His clawed fingers reached around Lilith's entire head, but before he could actually touch her, he froze in place. The 'bruise' on his neck continued to grow larger, eventually settling into the shape of a pair of lips.

Still smiling seductively, Lilith held up one finger, and used it to push Hyperion's open palm away from her face with minimal effort. "You may be powerful, but you're all instinct. You're just a fragment of a Shinigami's mutant soul." She cupped his chin in a mockery of an affectionate gesture. "Turning you into an obedient little puppet will be child's play."

The spell on him seemed to break as she turned away, and Hyperion stumbled, breathing heavily. The malevolent aura he emitted only seemed to grow stronger as his fury mounted. Lilith still showed no signs of being bothered by it.

"We're leaving," the witch ordered, taking confident strides toward her brother. Grudgingly, Sung-Sun and some others stepped back and allowed her to pass. For a moment it looked like Hyperion wasn't going to follow after her, but soon he started walking anyway, uttering a furious, impotent snarl.

Whether it was because he saw an opening, or because he simply couldn't bear to watch his target walk away from him unchallenged, Grimmjow's restraint finally buckled. He roughly wrenched his arm free of Ichigo's grip and rushed at the Vizard's exposed back, ignoring Ichigo and Nelliel's cries for him to stop.

He made it halfway before Hyperion turned around and focused his furious gaze on Grimmjow. The force of his concentrated Reiatsu buffeted Grimmjow like a burst of wind, kicking up the sand at his feet. Grimmjow managed five more steps before his knees gave out.

" **You again. Stubborn, aren't you?"** Seeing Grimmjow reduced to a quivering mess on the ground seemed to amuse him somewhat. He outright snickered when Ichigo voluntarily braved the psychic assault himself and shielded Grimmjow with his own Reiatsu. It had protected Rukia from Lilith earlier, so he reasoned it would work here too.

" **Very admirable of you, coming to your friend's aid like that."** Ichigo wasn't sure if that was meant mockingly or not. **"You seem to have a better grasp on your emotions than he does, at least,"** Hyperion observed, offhandedly gesturing to Grimmjow.

Unlike him, Ichigo _was_ still standing upright. He was terrified to be sure, every instinct he had telling him to turn tail and flee, but sheer stubbornness and determination kept him firmly rooted in place.

Hyperion tilted his head, studying him intently. He gasped as he realized just who was standing before him. It may have only been a few weeks since the battle in the Seireitei, but surely he hadn't expected to see Ichigo wearing a Soul Reaper uniform again.

Ichigo gripped Zangetsu's hilt a little tighter. He willed the cloth to unwrap again, but still nothing happened. He reached for his power, but every time he tried to activate his Shikai – let alone Bankai – he seemed to hit some sort of internal wall.

Fortunately, Hyperion didn't seem to be in the mood for a fight. After staring at Ichigo a little longer, and _God-damn_ it was annoying how that mask hid his expression - he slowly, _calculatingly_ , started speaking: **"You have a fair amount of power, boy, as well as the courage and willpower to go with it. The fact that you're still standing proves that. However... you know nothing of the true power of Hollows. Curses, _Acero,_ not to mention _Reishuken..."_**

The oppressive aura around them seemed to intensify when he mentioned the term ' _Reishuken',_ as if to emphasize it.

" **Until you learn, you will never- Agh..!"** He groaned in discomfort as the black chains materialized again, tightening to the extent that they actually cracked his armor in several places and caused it to melt in others from the heat they emitted. Clenching his teeth, Hyperion nonetheless continued: **"-never stand, a chance – not against me- aagh!- or against, Angra... Mainyu!"** Unable to defy Samael's orders any longer, he finally turned around and followed after Lilith. The chains unwound and vanished again as soon as he did.

Rukia joined Ichigo in watching the two head off into the distance, where a fellow servant of Angra Mainyu awaited. Slowly, the influence of their Reiatsu lessened before fading entirely when all three suddenly vanished.

A deathly silence hung over the camp. Grimmjow's irregular breathing and people muttering to one another in low tones were the only sounds to be heard.

_Curses. Acero. Reishuken._ Hyperion had withstood torture just to tell him those three words. Ichigo knew they had to be important. He would have to do some research.

He looked down at the shivering Arrancar behind him. Right now, however... he had a friend who needed caring for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Can you believe it? After all these months, an honest-to-goodness update! Well, keep that disbelief suspended a little longer, because there's more! I'm actually ahead for once! The next two chapters are completely done, with a third coming along nicely. Do you know what that means? Regular Updates! At the very least two of them!
> 
> Dear god, I'm way too excited over this. So, even though I haven't been keeping up with Bleach lately and still have a lot of chapters I need to catch up on, it's come to my attention that the Manga will be ending next week. It's a bittersweet feeling to be sure. Mostly I'm worried whether Kubo will be able to make it a satisfying conclusion, and if the last chapter will be the end of Bleach as a whole, or if there's more to come. I know Naruto got a short Spin-off Manga and a Movie, so maybe something like that? At the very least, I'm hoping the Blood War arc will get animated.
> 
> So yeah, let me know what you think! The three Warlords will be making more frequent appearances in future chapters, so I'd like to hear your thoughts on them so far. You've now seen a bit of what Lilith is capable of, and Samael and Kali will similarly butt heads with our protagonists soon.
> 
> Oh, nearly forgot to mention, Rukia's new technique: 'Shi no Mai: Awai Hasu' can translate to either 'Fourth Dance' or 'Dance of Death' since shi means both 'Four' and 'Death'. 'Awai Hasu' translates to 'Pale Lotus'.
> 
> Next update will be in two weeks. (For real this time!) See you then!


	17. Chapter 17

### Chapter 16: Changes

"What the hell is w-wrong with me?" Grimmjow asked as the pair stumbled more than walked into one of the smaller tents, even stuttering somewhat to his own incredulity. One of Ichigo's hands was pressing against his lower back, gently yet firmly pushing him forward. Grimmjow didn't even resist as Ichigo led him to an unoccupied cot, where they sat down side-by-side.

"Nothing's wrong with you Grimm," Ichigo spoke softly. The fact that the man had nothing to say about the nickname he'd just been assigned was already evidence to the contrary however. He began to pull back his arm, but when Grimmjow flinched in response to the sudden loss of contact, he stopped halfway. Hesitantly, Ichigo began rubbing the man's back in a somewhat awkward manner, hoping that the physical contact would help calm him down. It seemed to be working.

"After what happened last time you faced his Hollow form, it's not much of a surprise you're reacting this way," Ichigo went on to explain to the Arrancar, who clearly had no idea why his body was acting the way it was. "And that fucked up Reiatsu of his doesn't exactly help..." he muttered in frustration. "I'd be more surprised if you _weren't_ suffering from some kind of posttraumatic stress."

It was clear from his expression that Grimmjow still wasn't really following. "It happens all the time to... human warriors," Ichigo elaborated, feeling that Grimmjow would be much more amenable to being compared with other fighters, rather than be victimized. "After a near death-experience for example, or after going through something really painful. If you live through something like that, and then get put in a similar situation again... it's only natural that your body would react in some way."

Grimmjow didn't say anything, but there was now an oddly contemplative expression on his face as he observed the way his hands shook in his lap.

"Get some rest, alright?" Giving him a soft pat on the shoulder, Ichigo got up and left the small bed to Grimmjow. "I'll be right here," he assured Grimmjow while lowering himself to the surprisingly firm floor of the tent. "I need to do some _Jinzen_."

He threw one last glance at Grimmjow before closing his eyes, but the man wasn't moving an inch. Sighing softly to himself at the Arrancar's stubbornness, Ichigo lay his sword on his lap and tried to get into the proper state of mind. Knowing Grimmjow, he probably hadn't even _considered_ the fact that he might have developed a fear of the person who had nearly killed him and attacked him so brutally. It wasn't like Ichigo had managed to stay perfectly calm himself, and his own run-in with Takahashi that time in Soul Society hadn't been nearly as bad as Grimmjow's.

Shaking his head, Ichigo forced himself to focus. It was proving rather difficult to concentrate with everything currently playing on his mind, and the sounds from the rest of the camp that made it through the thin walls of their tent, but nonetheless he eventually found himself sitting on the side of a familiar skyscraper.

It was clouded in his Inner World. The sky was dark and full of tension - like the quiet before a major storm. Considering the issues currently plaguing him, it was no surprise to find his soul in such a state.

"So? why couldn't I use it?" He asked Zangetsu – the older-looking one – when he noticed the man observing him from up on his flagpole. "Did something go wrong with the Hogyoku after all? Or do I still need more time to recover?"

"No. Your Reiatsu has more or less stabilized by now," Zangetsu, or 'the Old Man' as Ichigo had decided to start addressing this half of his Zanpakuto spirit, informed him. "The problem," he continued, sternly frowning at Ichigo, "is you. You are afraid."

" _Afraid_?" Ichigo exclaimed, taken aback. "What do _I_ have to be afraid of?"

" **Me."**

Ichigo turned around with a start, abruptly coming face-to-face with his pale counterpart. The fact that the Hollow _wasn't_ wearing a maniacal grin and seemed decidedly unamused for once was probably the scariest thing he'd seen all day, and that was saying something. "I'm sorry, _what_?" he asked in disbelief.

" **Ya damn well should be sorry, after that pathetic display,"** Zangetsu - and wow that was gonna take some getting used to - sneered. **"What the Hell was that, 'King'? Can't you even use your Shikai properly without the Old Man holding your hand?"**

"I- I just did what I always have!" Ichigo sputtered, trying to defend himself. "And what do you mean he held my hand? What are you even talking about?"

The Hollow narrowed his eyes at Ichigo, then turned to address the other spirit with a resentful scowl. **"You gonna tell him or should I?"**

The Old Man let out a brief sigh. "Until now, I have been... regulating Zangetsu's power," he admitted, sounding oddly demure. "For reasons that were admittedly quite selfish, I did not want you using the full extent of your Shinigami or Hollow abilities. And make no mistake: Zangetsu, and thus you as well, are both, in equal measure."

While Ichigo wasn't sure _why_ the old man had done that, right now the Shikai situation took priority. He decided to add the matter to his rapidly growing list of 'Things to Yell at Old Man Zangetsu For'. "Okay, so... what does that mean exactly?" Ichigo questioned, "You've stopped putting the brakes on my powers now? If anything, shouldn't that make it easier to go into Shikai?"

" **It should,"** the Hollow interjected, **"except that you're too damn chickenshit to use your own power properly!"** He snarled dangerously. Ichigo never thought he would miss the Hollow's stupid, mocking grin. Seeing him actually angry turned out to be a hell of a lot scarier. The Zanpakuto Spirit tilted his head as he observed his wielder, and bared his teeth in something that only vaguely resembled a smile. **"Well, half of your power, at least."**

"Wait, so that blockage I felt..." Ichigo muttered, realization hitting him, "that was me, holding back the Hollow portion of my Reiatsu?"

" **Oh good, so you're not completely stupid,"** Zangetsu proclaimed almost happily. **"Just a coward, then."**

Ichigo knew he shouldn't rise to the bait, but then he wasn't exactly known for his stellar impulse control.

With a muted clash of metal on metal, Ichigo slammed his cloth-wrapped sword into Zangetsu's inverted-color copy. "Fine then," he grit out from between clenched teeth. "What do I have to do to properly use my Hollow powers?" He pushed against the paler Zangetsu, forcing him to take a step back. "Do I start by kicking your ass again, same as last time?"

The Hollow's demented laughter echoed between the surrounding skyscrapers. At least he was happy again, Ichigo supposed. **"** **N** **ot what I was going for... But I'll** **take it** **!"** the Hollow cried out eagerly, his voice becoming more high-pitched as his excitement grew.

With an explosion of black-and-red Reiatsu, Ichigo was sent sliding backwards along the building's massive glass panes as the black cloth around Zangetsu's sword began unwrapping. Wisps of darkness spewed out from between the strips of fabric as the cloth unwound, adding a healthy dose of trepidation to Ichigo's anger.

The Hollow cackled as the wrappings were shredded by the torrent of darkness, revealing an inky black, sword-shaped shadow underneath. **"It's not g** **onna** **take solid shape** **'till** **you man up and realize** **yer** **true pot** **ential, but it'll do fer now!"** Zangetsu joyously explained, his yellow eyes glowing fiercely. **"Try not to die too quickly, King, and you just might learn something!"**

Ichigo swallowed. The outpouring of black Reiatsu from the incomplete Zanpakuto intensified, drawing black streaks tinged with red across the sky. The Hollow raised the sword over his head. " _ **Getsuga..."**_

_Oh shit._

" _ **TENSHOU!"**_ Zangetsu shrieked, slicing diagonally in front of him and bringing forth a tidal wave of black that surged directly toward Ichigo, eating through the glass and concrete in its path like it was nothing.

Zangetsu – the older one – sighed as he watched Ichigo become engulfed by the black flood and get swept right off the side of the skyscraper. Trial by fire it was, then. Although, considering his wielder's personality, he supposed there was never any chance of things _not_ ending up this way...

* * *

Grimmjow kicked at the white sand underneath his feet. It was all he could do to give his anger an outlet in this giant litter box, but it wasn't exactly making him feel any better. Also he now had sand in his socks.

A snarl, a Cero and twenty seconds later, he was walking along a newly-formed path of solid, albeit still hot, glass. The cause of his latest fit of rage was threefold. Fourfold, if you counted his sandy socks.

The first, and biggest reason was of course Takahashi. He had finally come face to face with the bastard again, only to nearly shit himself the very second that monster bothered to even look at him. Grimmjow couldn't believe that he of all people was that weak. Seriously - _Posttraumatic Stress?_ What the Hell kind of bullshit even was that?

Not just that, but fucking 'hero complex' Kurosaki had once again seen the need to come to his rescue, like he was some damsel in need of saving. That was reason number two. The fact that the brat had all but dragged him to a tent and insisted he take some time to rest and recuperate (seriously, what was he, his mother?) hadn't done his damaged- no, _obliterated_ rather – pride any favors. Even now, Grimmjow could still vaguely sense the teen's presence, regardless of whatever metaphysical boundaries were presently separating them.

Which brought him to the third point- THIS PLACE.

It didn't seem to matter to his subconscious that his physical (spiritual?) body was already in Hueco Mundo. Nor did it seem to care that the absolute last thing he had wanted to do was actually listen to Kurosaki's advice to get some shut-eye. The second he lay back and his head hit the pillow however, he had passed out, only to be transported from one shitty desert in the material plane, to a somehow even more boring and shitty one in his dreams, for what was probably the fifth time in less than three days. Was his imagination really _this_ terrible?

He reached the end of his improvised walkway. From here on out, all that awaited him was more sand. Grimmjow decided that if such a thing were possible, he would murder his own subconscious as punishment for trapping him here.

A glint far off in the distance drew him out of his homicidal (suicidal?) thoughts. Something near the horizon was reflecting the moonlight. He couldn't make out what it was from here, but as he continued his approach, he noticed many more flashes of light, and always coming from a slightly different spot.

Having nothing better to do, Grimmjow decided to head toward the strange lights, hypothesizing as to what he might find when he eventually arrived. A bunch of mirrors? A field of broken glass? An entire forest of those shitty crystal trees, perhaps? Either way, it broke away from the usual pattern of wandering around aimlessly, passing out, and waking up back in the real world that these strange dreams had followed up until now.

With a great big leap, Grimmjow set off for his newly-acquired destination, shattering the glass walkway underfoot by using it as a launch pad. His clothes and hair billowed wildly as he soared through the air, the glinting lights rapidly getting closer thanks to his skilled use of Sonido. Just beyond where he had first spotted them, Grimmjow saw that there was a sudden drop-off, and the expletive he uttered was lost to the wind when he realized what he was about to land in if he went any further.

Grimmjow's touching down kicked up a huge cloud of sand and dust, which slowly rained down again on the jagged bits of metal sticking out of the sand. For once in his life, Grimmjow was rendered speechless. In a bit of a daze, he walked past the first of the silvery-gray protrusions, taking in the absurd sight ahead of him.

An entire valley stretched out before and below him, ensconced by massive, impossible walls of sand. From what he could tell, Grimmjow estimated he would have to descend at least two hundred meters to reach the bottom, and the way down looked incredibly steep and dangerous. Everywhere he looked, the moonlight was reflected back at him by what he now realized was highly reflective metal.

Looking down at it from on high, the valley could have almost been mistaken for a massive lake with the way all that metal reflected the light. Except that there was no water to be found anywhere around here, as far as Grimmjow could see.

He lightly touched the protrusion closest to him. There were several similar-looking 'blades' emerging from the sand, originating from the same point and then fanning out in a rosette. Every individual blade was long and flat, like a knife. Their edges were all jagged like two-sided saws. And yet, comparing them to man-made tools felt... wrong. They were far too natural, too alien, too... elegant. Likening what he was seeing to something as pedestrian as a hand saw seemed crude.

No. He knew what they were. They were _plants_. He was looking out over an oasis- rather, a massive _forest_ of steel.

He drew back his finger, and it came back bloody from a paper-thin cut he hadn't even felt. All around the edges of the valley, at the de facto borderline between it and the desert, there were countless more rosettes of these sword-shaped leaves. Had Grimmjow been more knowledgeable about botany, he probably would have likened them to agaves _._

The great walls of sand that at first had seemed ready to collapse and bury the entire valley at any moment, he now understood were held firmly in place by countless clumps of Marram grass- except it was hard to think to think of it as such when said _grass_ was in fact razor-sharp metal that could slice off his limbs if he so much as grazed it from the looks of it.

Further down in the valley, Grimmjow could even make out entire trees with mighty gray trunks and pale silver, almost translucent, blue-veined leaves. The trees were covered in vines that shifted like mercury whenever the wind touched them.

Grimmjow must have already been staring at the alien landscape with his mouth hanging open for five solid minutes when the sound of someone softly chuckling alerted him. "Who's there?" he called out, one hand flying to his sword hilt.

" _It took you long enough to find this place,"_ the disembodied, yet distinctly female voice replied. It wasn't the first time he had heard it while trapped in one of these 'dreams'. She sounded very much amused by his behavior, yet somehow Grimmjow didn't feel like she was mocking him.

" _While I'm sure you would like answers straight away, patience I'm afraid is one of those virtues you so sorely lack, so I'll have you wait a little longer, my dear Grimmjow. This is meant to be a learning experience, after all."_

If anyone else had said those words to him, Grimmjow would have most likely been snarling and throwing insults around, but he knew instinctively that that would have been a particularly disgraceful thing to do in this situation. Instead, he simply asked the voice where he could find her.

A subdued and dignified hum of approval echoed out from the heart of the forest, all the way at the bottom of the valley. _"_ _I think y_ _ou already know."_

* * *

"Rukia!"

Hearing her name called, Rukia turned to face the approaching redhead as he stomped his way through the barracks, pushing some of her fellow Squad members aside in his rush to get to her. "Renji," she greeted in a far calmer manner while he stopped to catch his breath. "Is something wrong?"

"Something wrong?!" he bellowed disbelievingly, causing some passers-by to stare at them, "You just got attacked by three of those monsters and you ask _me_ if something's wrong?!" He started feeling at her shoulders, arms, and face, giving her a very thorough once-over and even checking for a fever while he was at it.

"Kn- knock it off, you idiot!" Rukia sputtered in protest, batting away his hands before punching Renji in the collarbone and eliciting a pained yelp from him. Some of the onlookers chuckled at the sight, and Rukia felt a little embarrassed once she realized they were at the center of attention, so she hurriedly grabbed Renji's sleeve and dragged him into an empty office so he could freak out on her in private, at least.

Renji retained a worried frown while rubbing the sting out of the offended area. "You sure you're okay?" he asked once she closed the door behind them. He sat down on top of a desk. "You went up against three of those things; just one of them was enough to take down our entire squad, and two of our guys are _still_ fighting for their lives thanks to the curse on the wounds."

Rukia's gaze was automatically drawn to the bloody bandages around both Renji's arms. His left was the worse of the two, she knew – it had to be changed every two hours or it started leaking blood everywhere he went. It had been nine days now and his injuries still didn't show much sign of healing, even though Unohana had assured them there was _some_ improvement... Captain Zaraki on the other hand was almost as good as new by now, while her brother's facial injuries were finally starting to respond to the regenerative treatments. Surely everyone would be fine, in time.

She put her own worries aside and focused on allaying Renji's for now. "Lilith was the only one who actively fought us," she explained, hopping up onto the desk and sitting down next to him. "And even then she had her thralls doing most of the work for her. Them we could handle them without too much difficulty." Rukia felt it best to leave out the part where everyone but herself had been turned into drooling vegetables for the first part of the fight. "Takahashi and Samael didn't really do anything. They just picked up Lilith and left again."

"And don't forget," she went on, "we just happened to interrupt one of Lilith's recruitment drives. You and Byakuya on the other hand actually challenged Kali head-on, and she's by far the most powerful Warlord if the files left by Captain Yamamoto are to be believed."

"Wait, what's this about a recruitment drive?" Renji interrupted.

"Do you remember those disappearances over in Haven?" she asked. Renji frowned, already not liking where this was going. "Apparently those were all Lilith's doing, which didn't exactly come as a surprise. When I thawed out her zombies from my ice, Nel and Sung-Sun recognized some of them as people who had gone missing. Not just that, but a couple of Arrancar who were still in the camp when the fight happened turned out to be sleeper agents without even knowing it."

Renji blinked in shock. "Holy shit."

"Yeah," she sighed. Finding out just how many people in Haven had already been involuntarily brought over to Angra's side through Lilith's mind control had dealt a pretty severe blow to the Arrancars' morale. Tensions were high enough already – now the Arrancar couldn't even afford to trust each other anymore. Rukia shuddered to think that the Gotei might have been similarly compromised, unlikely as it was.

"Still, we managed to prevent the worst-case scenario at least. If we hadn't gotten there when we did, Tia Harribel might have fallen into that bit- _witch's -_ hands as well, and then Haven would have likely fallen apart completely." _'In which case the Soul Reapers would have had to fight the Warlords on their home turf without any help from the Arrancar,'_ she added mentally. Somehow Rukia didn't think that would have gone very well for their side.

Renji swallowed heavily. "Damn. You do realize you just saved hundreds of lives, right? Maybe even more than that, if you consider how losing Haven could have changed the course of the entire war."

Rukia froze up completely, turning horrified eyes on Renji. "Don't say that!" she snapped, sounding every bit as scared as she looked in that moment. "I don't want to- I can't think about how my actions could affect that many lives. If I screw up, and a hundred people die because of my mistake I- I couldn't-"

Renji wrapped her into a hug, soothingly stroking her hair as she breathed heavily into his chest. "I'm sorry," he said quietly. "I was trying to... I just wanted you to know what a good thing you did today. The last thing I wanted to do was stress you out even more." He smiled self-deprecatingly. "Me and my big, stupid mouth, huh?"

Rukia shook her head and took a deep breath to compose herself before pulling away. "No. You're right. I should be proud of what I did. Thank you, Renji."

Resting her head on his shoulder and grabbing onto his arm (the right one) for support, she continued: "It's just... I feel so inadequate. I want to help you, and Ichigo, and my brother, but do you realize what it was like to be in the middle of that? What if felt like when Ichigo, Lilith and Taka- well, Hyperion now, I suppose - when their Reiatsu clashed?" She shuddered at the memory.

Renji _could_ in fact, imagine it very well. He had faced Kali alongside his Captain, after all.

"It was all I could do to stay standing," Rukia admitted with a tiny voice. "Even Grimmjow went down once he got too close, and his Reiatsu is far more powerful than mine, much as I hate to admit it. I don't see what I could possibly do to help. If anything, I'd just get in your way."

"You wouldn't get in the way," the redhead replied without hesitation. When he saw Rukia get ready to argue, he elaborated: "Okay, so maybe you shouldn't be fighting any of those monsters one-on-one – hell, I probably wouldn't even last a minute on my own, even with Bankai – but there's plenty of ways you could help! I mean, how many people are as good with Kido as you are? You're better at it than even some of the Captains, and I've seen you do stuff no-one else has ever pulled off!"

She opened her mouth again, whether it was to argue or thank him for the pep-talk even she didn't know, but then something just _clicked_ in her mind, and she knew what she had to do. "Renji... That's it!" she exclaimed, letting go of his arm in her excitement. "I don't need to try and fight on their level – I just need to specialize!"

Renji blinked. "Not that I'm disagreeing," he began carefully, "But what would that entail, exactly?"

"It's simple!" She smiled at him with a familiar fire in her eyes. "Even if I can't hope to beat them on my own, if I were to focus on developing just one or two skills that could shift the odds in our favor, that might give us the edge we need to win." She nodded to herself. "I may not be able to land a killing blow, but I could use Sode no Shirayuki to slow down their movements at just the right time, or maybe even create some sort of Kido to pin them down with, or- ugh, I don't know!" she grunted in frustration. "There's so many possibilities! I'll have to think about what I could do to make the biggest impact. It's a good thing we were already headed to Urahara's."

"We were?" Renji questioned, going completely unheard as Rukia got up from the desk and purposefully headed toward the door.

"I'm sure he'll be able to help with this sort of thing," she continued, not even hearing him at this point. "That can wait until after I ask about the other stuff though..." she muttered to herself.

Renji sighed as he followed, slightly exasperated but not unamused. She kept on chattering almost the whole way to the Senkaimon, not seeming to realize that Renji couldn't keep up with even half of the things she was saying once she got into the subject of advanced Kido theory.

"Sorry. I got too excited," she eventually admitted by the time they reached the gateway. "The thing is, Taka- dammit! Hyperion I mean," she corrected herself, "said some interesting things to us just before he left. I'm absolutely convinced it's important, and Urahara is going to help me get to the bottom of this."

* * *

Later that evening:

Grimmjow opened his eyes, realizing right away that this wasn't the same ceiling he had fallen asleep under. He shot up in a bit of a panic, but quickly settled down again when he realized he was back in his own room at the shopkeeper's place. He also realized that he wasn't alone: Kurosaki was there with him. For some odd reason, there were two of him though.

The Kurosaki who was clad in black looked up when he noticed Grimmjow staring at him. "You're awake," he observed. "Good, I was getting worried."

"Why would you be worried?" Grimmjow croaked out hoarsely while Shinigami-Kurosaki approached him. Human-Kurosaki on the other hand stayed perfectly still on the other futon, literally dead to the world.

"Take a look at your arms," the teen ordered while he handed Grimmjow a water bottle so he could clear his throat. Grimmjow guessed he must have been asleep for quite a while if he was this thirsty. Not surprising, considering how long he'd been floundering about in 'that place'.

He was about to lift the bottle to his lips, but took notice of the state of his arm just then. "Well shit," Grimmjow swore, looking over the myriad of cuts littering his arm. Some of the worse ones had been bandaged or patched up with band-aids. The other arm was much the same, and he had an inkling the rest of his body was in a similar state.

"Care to explain?" Ichigo asked. "Orihime healed you five times while she was here earlier today, but more cuts just kept on showing up and we couldn't get you to wake up. Eventually she gave up and went home, but only after I promised to look after you once she left." He patted the lid of the familiar first-aid kit that stood next to the Arrancar's bedside. "I was afraid I was gonna run out of bandages."

While Ichigo talked, Grimmjow pulled up his pant legs, seeing that those were full of angry red lines as well. Kurosaki had treated him there too, if the many bandages were any indication.

"I did what I could, but I ah, didn't feel like going below the belt," the teen went on. "You didn't seem to bleeding to death from anywhere in that area as far as I could tell so... yeah..." he finished awkwardly.

Grimmjow on the other hand, not at all bothered by human concepts like embarrassment and modesty, pulled at the front of his pants and calmly inspected the state of his equipment. He decidedly ignored whatever nonsense Kurosaki started sputtering once he did so, and grimaced when he saw a fairly deep cut not even half an inch to the right of his manhood. The memory of _that_ particular injury stood out a bit more vividly than the others.

"So? You gonna bother telling me what this is all about?" Ichigo asked, pointedly not looking in his direction.

Satisfied that nothing important had gotten damaged during his little adventure, Grimmjow covered himself back up. He couldn't help his lips twisting into a smirk when he saw how red Kurosaki's face had gotten. Looking more closely however, that wasn't the only red to be found on the teen's face. "Sure, I'll tell you. As soon as you tell me why your head is bleeding."

Startled, Ichigo gingerly felt at the side of his head, quickly locating the source of the bleeding on his temple. "God dammit, Shiro," he swore under his breath, grabbing some sterile cloth from the open first-aid kit near Grimmjow's bedside.

"Shiro?"

"Oh, it's what I decided to call the Hollow half of my Zanpakuto," Ichigo explained while he dabbed at the wound. Grimmjow stared at him, one eyebrow raised. "I have two Zanpakuto spirits," he clarified. "Problem is, both of them are called Zangetsu, and was _that_ ever starting to get annoying, so I gave them nicknames. The one with my Hollow and Shinigami powers is Shiro. The spirit with my..." he hesitated for a moment. "With my Quincy powers, him I just call 'Old Man'."

Grimmjow's other eyebrow had joined its twin in its trek upward. Both were now on the verge of disappearing into his hairline.

Ichigo sighed in exasperation. "I talked to my dad earlier today, and apparently my mom was a-"

"So what you're saying is," Grimmjow cut him off mid-sentence, "that you hear voices in your head?"

Ichigo scrunched his eyes shut and groaned loudly in frustration. Leave it to Grimmjow to focus on _that_ part. He glared at the Arrancar. "I'm not insane, that's just how-"

"I do too," Grimmjow stated flatly, frowning at Ichigo. "I keep hearing a woman talk to me every time I fall asleep."

Ichigo took in this new information, wearing an uncharacteristically serious expression. "Tell me everything," he ordered.

So Grimmjow did. He told Ichigo about the first time he had found himself in that stupid desert, after going to sleep right after the teen had met with Aizen in order to regain his powers. How he had walked around without purpose for hours, unable to wake up.

After that, it had started happening regularly. Not just when he went to sleep at night either, but even during the day he would occasionally get inexplicably tired and be forced to take a nap, only to end having the same dream. From the third time onward, he had started hearing the voice. At first, he had barely even been able to understand what it was saying.

Most recently it had happened right before the fight with Lilith. He'd been wandering aimlessly through that stupid desert again, only for the dream to come to an abrupt end when the voice spoke to him again, warning him about some kind of danger that was approaching. After that, the dream had quite literally collapsed on itself and he had woken up.

As soon as he had, he overheard Urahara and Yoruichi talking through the thin walls of his room, mentioning something about the strange readings the man's equipment was picking up in Haven, and that the people in the camp might have been in danger. Grimmjow had then quickly headed outside and ripped open a Garganta only to come face-to-face with the Harlot Queen herself as soon as he arrived.

"The Harlot Queen?" Ichigo asked, interrupting Grimmjow's recounting of events.

"Lilith," he gruffly replied. "She was basically an urban legend in Hueco Mundo. I heard about her soon after I became an Adjuchas. Rumor was that she wandered around the desert, looking for powerful warriors. Supposedly she was building a massive army, enslaving entire tribes of Hollows with her magic. Fucking hell," he huffed out with a crooked smile, "I didn't even believe she was real, but then I go to Haven to see what all the fuss is about and I find the whore right in the middle of our supposed 'safe zone'."

"Thanks, by the way," Ichigo cut in, throwing Grimmjow off again. "For showing up when you did. If it wasn't for you and Rukia, everyone there would have either ended up dead or as new recruits for Lilith's zombie army."

"Forget it," Grimmjow waved him off. "We're even now." Ichigo hesitated for a moment, then smiled and nodded. "Why 'Harlot' Queen though?" he asked curiously.

"Apparently she liked to fuck the tribe leaders before screwing with their heads," Grimmjow explained, sounding rather blasé about the whole thing. "Dunno if that's a requirement for her magic to work, or if she's just a slut, but I can't say I care either way. Anyway, where was I..."

He went on to talk about the mysterious voice again. Each dream had been the same, with him trapped in the fake Hueco Mundo, just wandering around, while the voice spoke to him only very occasionally. She had never answered any of his questions, or engaged him in conversation. Until today, when he had found the valley.

Grimmjow did his best to describe the jungle of steel to Ichigo, but he was no storyteller, and the little punk didn't hesitate to make fun of him for his less-than-evocative and sometimes downright awful descriptions and metaphors. So what if he said the plants that grew on the edge of the cliff looked like a bunch of swords sticking out of the ground with other, smaller swords growing out of them? That's what they looked like to him!

When he got to the part where he had started his descent into the valley itself, Ichigo was listening with rapt attention. According to Grimmjow, you couldn't walk on the air within the valley itself, so he had been forced to climb down the old-fashioned way.

Ichigo winced when he talked about the many cuts he sustained from accidentally grabbing clumps of the treacherously sharp grass that grew everywhere along the cliffside. He even drew his legs together in sympathy when Grimmjow told him of how he had slipped and slid down a sandy slope at one point, earning himself a fresh collection of cuts on his ass as he passed some more sharp-edged vegetation on the way down before coming to an acute stop against the equally acute stem of a giant flower with aluminum foil petals. Said flower had been right between his legs at that point, and had promptly inspired him into producing a true litany of curses that would have made even the most hardened sailor blush.

Once he had finally made it down to the bottom, and thus to the actual forest, things hadn't gone much better with the killer grass on the forest floor scraping the flesh off his feet as soon as he tried to walk on it, so he had been forced to travel by jumping between the slippery metal tree branches. It had taken some getting used to, and he had still encountered plenty of opportunities to get turned into _shish kebab_ along the way, but he had finally, after many hours, made it to a clearing that seemed more or less safe to walk on.

Soon after that, he had stumbled across a river that apparently ran throughout the entire length of the valley, and that was where he had finally passed out from a combination of fatigue and blood loss.

"Wow," Ichigo said while Grimmjow drank deeply from the water bottle to soothe his sore throat. The Arrancar wasn't used to talking this much at once. "For a guy who's been asleep for half the day, you've been shockingly busy."

"So? Does that tell you anything?" Grimmjow questioned after emptying the battle. "Am I going insane or what?"

Ichigo shook his head softly. "No. It sounds like you've been doing the same thing I have, actually." He absently fingered his head injury, checking if the blood flow had stopped by now. "It sounds to me like you were in your Inner World, and that the voice you keep hearing is your Zanpakuto Spirit."

Grimmjow gaped at him. "You're shitting me."

"At first I was worried that it might have been some aftereffect of Lilith's abilities, but since you've been having these 'dreams' since Sunday, I doubt it's because of her. It's also the only way I can explain you getting injured like that in the real world when you got hurt in there," Ichigo pointed out, sounding perfectly logical even though the whole thing sounded ridiculous to Grimmjow.

This of course led to a whole new conversation about what this might mean for Grimmjow's abilities, and whether this whole thing was a result of the Hogyoku's interference, which seemed like a pretty safe bet to both of them. Eventually they shifted to talking about Ichigo's own Inner world, the two Zangetsus, and the fight Ichigo had with Shiro, which in turn led them to the conversation Ichigo had earlier today with his father. As it turned out, his mother had actually been a Quincy, and his father had saved her life after she got infected by a powerful Hollow. Ichigo still seemed a little shaken up by the revelation, but he seemed relieved to have someone to talk to about it.

From there on out they started talking about everything and nothing, really. Grimjow told him about the day he was 'born', when he became the dominant personality among the hundreds of others within the Menos Grande he had been a part of. How he transformed into an Adjuchas and met the people who would eventually become his subordinates.

Ichigo then told him of how he had invaded the Soul Society to save Rukia. He told Grimmjow what going to school was like, and even told him about the part-time job he had considered taking before the whole mess with Takahashi had started and thrown a wrench in those plans.

By the time they finally finished talking and pretty much fell asleep where they sat - with neither of them bothering to get back into their physical bodies - they knew more about each other than probably anyone else, in any of the three worlds. And somehow, the fact that the person who knew Grimmjow best was now _Kurosaki_ of all people, didn't feel nearly as weird as it should have.

* * *

Lilith strode into the throne room, her footsteps loudly echoing throughout the cavernous chamber. A sense of eagerness filled her as she regarded the empty seat at the center of the dais. She knew: it would not remain empty for much longer.

"Sister." Samael emerged from the shadows on the far side of the grand hall, soundlessly approaching. "I see you've returned."

"Yes, I only made it back just now. Gathering all the tribes together took longer than I expected."

They stood shoulder-to-shoulder, both gazing longingly at the vacant throne. Drawing strength from the knowledge that very soon, her master would be sitting in it once more for the first time in a millennium, she managed to tear her eyes away and turned to address her brother. She couldn't help but look down and frown distastefully at the... _thing_ he insisted on wearing though.

She had no words for it. It was like a demonic cross between a Soul Reaper's _hakama,_ a skirt, and a ceremonial robe.

She knew he had made the accursed the thing himself. She knew it had been assembled out of the skins and furs of the many powerful Hollows he had hunted down over the years, and that he thought it made him look intimidating. She _also_ knew that the real reason he wore it was to hide the fact that he was actually floating a foot above the ground and was in reality a full head shorter than he appeared to be.

"Tell me, how are our... _pets_ doing?" she inquired, suppressing the urge to set the blasted thing on fire right then and there.

" _Your_ pet is ready to be deployed," Samael replied calmly, unaware of his sister's attempts to _will_ his legwear to burst into flames. "I put the finishing touches on him yesterday. He will obey us without question, not that he was putting up much resistance." He set off for a doorway to the left of the dais. Lilith followed him, knowing he was headed for the dungeons. She wanted to see how their... _prizes_ were faring.

"As for mine, your Kiss seems to have finally broken him this morning."

When they arrived at their destination, they were faced with two rather sorry-looking individuals, both of them chained to the wall by their hands and feet.

Hyperion had finally stopped trashing against his restraints. And he had misbehaved _very_ badly these past few hours, if the countless claw marks on the wall behind him were any indication. She went in for a closer look, and was satisfied to see that her Curse had achieved the desired result.

The purple mark on his neck, shaped like a set of lips, lay at the nexus of a veritable network of sickly dark veins. They reached to his chest, to the black markings on the back of his neck, and most importantly, underneath his oversized mask and all around his head.

She smiled coldly when she saw his expressionless eyes, just barely glowing purple now, when not even a full day ago, they had burned brightly with pure hatred for her.

"I told you I would turn you into my puppet. But don't worry; I treat my toys with care," she whispered before pressing a soft kiss to the corner of his mouth. "I still can't believe this is that same Shinigami," Lilith admitted when she pulled back, turning to face her brother. "To think... one little touch and a hundred and twenty years of waiting was all it took, and now the General is gone and our master is on the verge of being reborn," she spoke almost reverently, looking at Samael with wide, disbelieving eyes. Had her brother really planned this far ahead? Or was it pure, dumb luck that events had played out in their favor like this? She supposed it didn't matter. Perhaps it was Fate itself at work.

After one last caress against Hyperion's mask, she moved on to the other shackled man. Unlike with Hyperion, there was no sign he had struggled at any point. He was the only person in the room who didn't have a complete mask. Instead there was what looked like a jawbone complete with teeth attached to his collar, like a necklace.

Samael's handiwork was easily recognizable: she could see his Black Chains wrapped all around her own little pet clear as day, even though they were normally invisible to the naked eye when they were inactive. Even if her Mind Control were to fail - which it most certainly wouldn't – the Chains would ensure obedience. Pain was a fantastic motivator after all.

"I believe it's time we gave this one a name," she mused. "He's been so good lately- he's earned it."

Samael floated over to join her at the catatonic brunet's side. "You were the one who found and treated him. The honor is yours, sister."

Lilith's smile went unseen beneath her veil. "This one was meant to come in a set, but he has tragically lost the other half of his soul. I believe it would only be fitting to name him after one of the ruined Twin Cities." There was a hint of longing in her voice when she spoke. The Cities were meant to be the first stepping stones towards building her empire. Now they lay buried beneath the sands of Hueco Mundo, untouched for centuries.

"We will rebuild them, sister," Samael assured her as she approached their captive. "Perhaps even sooner than you imagine."

With a swipe of Lilith's claws, the shackles around the man's wrists fell away. He dropped his arms to his sides, but gave no other reaction to being freed. His gray eyes looked dully at her.

Lilith smiled, the corners of her unnaturally wide mouth extending past the edges of her face veil. At last, after more than a thousand long years, everything was falling into place. She already had her army. Soon, she would have her cities, and eventually, her empire.

And very soon... the Warlords would number five once more. She put a hand on the man's cheek. He blankly stared at it, then focused on her face again. "Yes... from this day onward, you shall have the name... Gomorrah."

* * *

"Shouldn't you be at that school of yours?" Grimmjow inquired groggily while reaching over to the other futon and poking Ichigo with his big toe.

"No," Ichigo yawned, kicking Grimmjow's foot away. "Didn't you notice Kon coming in to pick up my body earlier? He's taking over for me at school until the mess with Angra Mainyu gets sorted."

It was hard to tell how late it was, considering this room had no windows, but it was pretty clear to both of them that they had slept in quite a bit.

"What time is it?"

"I dunno... dammit, that little bastard swiped my phone!" Ichigo stumbled around the room for a bit before finding the light switch. Both of them winced at the sudden brightness.

"I'd better go find Urahara, we were supposed to start practicing with the Longinus today," Ichigo muttered, still sleepy, before swearing out loud when he noticed the clock on the wall displaying it was nearly noon already. They had been up rather late after all... last time Ichigo had checked, it had been four in the morning. "Are you taking a shower first?"

"Nah, no need." Grimmjow shrugged his white Espada jacket back on before nonchalantly hopping into the Gigai that had been left in the corner. "There. Clean," he announced with a self-satisfied smirk. "Turns out this thing is good for something after all."

"That's disgusting," Ichigo flatly stated, crinkling his nose for added effect. Once Grimmjow joined him at the door, they headed toward the kitchen together. "I wonder if Urahara has any food made out of Reishi... I'm kinda hungry," Ichigo wondered out loud while scratching his stomach.

"What, you can't eat normal food while you're a Soul Reaper?"

Ichigo shot him a dark look. "I tried once. It was a mistake and I won't be making it again. Let's leave it at that."

As it turned out, Urahara did have some food imported from Soul Society, and Tessai was more than happy to whip something up for the both of them. After eating, they headed down to the basement Training Room, where they found Urahara already waiting for them.

"Kurosaki-san! Jaegerjaquez-san! Glad you could make it. Did you sleep well?" The man greeted them with his usual stupid grin, and Ichigo was simply not in the mood to deal with that kind of idiocy this soon after waking up.

"We did," Ichigo affirmed somewhat curtly. "Thanks for letting me stay over. What are those?" he asked quickly, figuring he could distract Urahara from whatever annoying line of questioning the man was going to subject him and Grimmjow to after sleeping in so late.

Two peculiar objects lay at Urahara's feet: An oversized, high-tech metal stake, and a completely featureless Gigai, which would not have been all that noteworthy if it weren't for the fact that it was pitch black and sort of shiny, like it was made from obsidian.

"This here is the Longinus, Mark twenty-five," Urahara proudly announced, lifting the massive stake. "The second model created by yours truly. It is nearly identical in function to the one currently in use by Captain Ukitake, so we will have you use this one to practice with. The only significant difference with Kurotsuchi's model is the Reiatsu Amplifier, so if anything, you should have an easier time with that one when we do this for real." He handed the tool to Ichigo, showing him where to put his hands, and a general overview of how he needed to use the contraption.

"You'll be practicing on this Gigai," he explained, pointing to the black, man-shaped dummy on the ground. "It's heavily reinforced, and made of extremely dense Reishi. You would have a difficult time damaging it even with your Bankai, Kurosaki-san. Once you manage to destroy it – using the Longinus, of course – we'll go back to the tower." He looked at Ichigo. "Is that alright?"

Ichigo huffed, lining up the Longinus' business end with the Gigai's stomach. "Don't think I'm gonna let some emaciated mummy's cheap jumpscare get to me, Urahara. Next time I go in there, it'll be to put an end to this mess."

He breathed in deeply, focusing his Reiatsu into the device. He thought back to his training at Kukaku's house, where he and his friends had all worked with the Reishūkaku- the cannonball-like things developed by the Shiba clan. The power-up sequence for the Longinus followed much the same procedure according to Urahara.

The realization that he was actually _related_ to that band of lunatics almost made him groan out loud, but Ichigo managed to contain it.

Once he started feeding power into it – and unlike with the Reishūkaku, he didn't have to hold back his overabundant power – the machine began to emit a soft hum, and some lights on the side lit up in a faint blue color.

"Very good, Kurosaki-san," Urahara encouraged him. "The next part is where it gets difficult however. You will have to use your Reiatsu sense to feel the layout of the internal matrix, and distribute your power accordingly. Don't bother with regulating your power flow just yet; just go with whatever output level is easiest to manage, and focus on getting a feel for the shape of the matrix."

Ichigo had no idea how to do any of that. He did sort of feel how his power was first gathered into some sort of capacitor after feeding it into the Longinus, and was then released in a steady, stable flow into its inner mechanisms. But that was where things got strange.

Ichigo felt how, once the energy was released from the capacitor, it was split up along several different pathways running along the machine's interior, like the trunk of a tree growing many different branches, or perhaps more accurately, a great river splitting up into many smaller streams.

All of a sudden, twenty things were happening at once and Ichigo had no idea how to respond. The machine whined in protest as the power distribution was completely off, with some parts of the machine receiving almost no juice, while others were overloaded far beyond capacity. Panicking, Ichgio tried to compensate, but only succeeded in causing overflow to _different_ parts. Ultimately, he decided to cover his losses and cut off the energy flow altogether, afraid of causing irreparable damage if this continued.

Clearly, this was the wrong thing to do. With no inflow, the energy backed up, gathered in the capacitor, and was violently expelled into the only available container.

Namely Ichigo.

"GAAAAH!" All that power rushed back into him, the immense force ripping the Longinus straight out of his hands and sending it hurtling through the training room like a massive, five foot bullet. It landed easily 200 meters away, and would take Urahara five minutes to dig out of the rock it had lodged itself into. Ichigo himself only flew back a paltry five meters by comparison, where he landed on his behind and painfully clutched his smoking arms to his chest.

Grimmjow's mocking laughter cut through the silence that had descended in the wake of Ichigo's first failed attempt. "Great job there, Kurosaki!" he called out. "I bet The Hollow Lord's pissing himself right about now!"

Grinding his teeth, Ichigo carefully tried moving his fingers. His hands were shaking terribly, and his arms felt like they had been struck by lightning (and he was intimately familiar with the sensation, thanks to Takahashi), but other than that he was more or less alright.

Grimmjow was still snickering by the time he managed to get back upright. "Wanna see if you can launch it even farther next time?"

Ichigo looked him straight in the eye unleashed the full force of his Reiatsu in Grimmjow's general direction, peppering it with some of Shiro's for added effect. The wall of pure force slammed into the Arrancar and knocked him flat on his arse with a yelp. "Shut it, you," Ichigo grumbled, narrowing his eyes at the Arrancar.

Grimmjow blinked disbelievingly at him with eyes like saucers. "Damn. Touchy."

They half-heartedly glared at each other for a bit, almost out of obligation at this point, what with them being former enemies with a major stubborn streak and all, but the situation was honestly too funny to keep it up for long. Soon enough they were smiling at each other and trying very hard not to laugh.

"Very good, Kurosaki-san!" Urahara complimented Ichigo after seeing what he had done to Grimmjow. "You managed to focus the full force of your Reiatsu directly in front of you just now. With control like that, I'm convinced you'll get the hang of this in no time." The man took a quick look at his arms and fixed most of the damage with Kaido. He then explained what exactly had gone wrong and gave some pointers for Ichigo's next attempt, before telling Ichigo to take five while he went to retrieve the device.

In the meantime, Ichigo began massaging his arms. Some of his muscles still twitched occasionally, but the pain was mostly gone by now. Grimmjow took a seat next to him. The bastard took a look at his arms, then very blatantly traced the flight path the Longinus had taken with his eyes even as a shit-eating grin fought its way onto his face.

"Don't you dare laugh, asshole," Ichigo admonished him, driving an elbow into Grimmjow's side. "I'd like to see you do better."

Grimmjow winced, but it did nothing to diminish his grin. "Hey, I'm not the one with the monstrous Reiatsu now, am I?" He roughly bumped his shoulder against Ichigo's sore upper arm in revenge and managed to draw a cry of pain out of him. "Even so, I _still_ feel like I'd do better than you."

They continued to bicker back and forth right up until Urahara came back, pushing and shoving at each other like a pair of ten-year-olds the whole time.

Urahara looked exasperated when he saw the many forming bruises on their arms, and somewhere Ichigo knew he should have felt embarrassed for acting so childishly, but honestly couldn't bring himself to care with Grimmjow sitting right there next to him, equally guilty.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This has to be the shortest amount of time between updates since the start of this story. I'm kind of proud of myself. *Wipes away tear*
> 
> So. Ichigo and Grimmjow are both learning to deal with the aftereffects of the Hogyoku's intervention, and bonding while they're at it. Rukia's starting to feel the pressure of preparing for a major conflict, even as she's trying to figure a bunch of stuff out, and Renji's trying to be supportive. As for 'team Angra': Hyperion's been brainwashed, Lilith's still a whore, Samael's short and Kali just can't seem to get any screentime. #WarlordProblems
> 
> As for 'Gomorrah': just to be clear, he's not an OC. I think I gave enough hints as to his true identity in this chapter. Lilith believes his abilities will be very useful in the upcoming battles, so she decided to... persuade him to join.
> 
> Next chapter will be a bit on the shorter side. It was originally meant to be a lot longer, but it's fairly light-hearted and the stuff that comes after it... isn't, so I decided to make it into a separate chapter. Please leave a comment telling me what you think of the chapter - whether it's praise or criticism, I'll be happy to hear your thoughts either way.
> 
> Next update will be in two weeks again. See you then!


	18. Chapter 18

### Chapter 17: Balance

Quite some time had passed since Ichigo had first begun practicing with the Longinus. Temperatures had finally dipped below freezing, and the first snow had fallen just a few days earlier. It had melted again almost as soon as it fell, but if the weather report was to be believed, it had been a mere taste of what was still to come by the time Christmas rolled around. Ichigo hadn't had much time to enjoy the snow, or even worry about buying presents however.

His progress with the weapon was painfully slow, and with the demon in the tower getting stronger with every passing day, he had focused his efforts almost exclusively on learning to use the damned thing. Even so, he could only spend so many hours in one day working with the device before he risked losing his mind, and so he and Grimmjow had quickly come up with an outlet for their respective frustrations.

"Good, Kurosaki! Just like that!" said Arrancar encouraged him.

Ichigo winced, barely managing to hold back a pained hiss. _'Easy for him to say,'_ the Soul Reaper thought sullenly even as he blocked another stroke of Grimmjow's sword with his bare hands. _'He's not the one on the_ _receiving end of that butter knife._ _'_

Grimmjow disappeared with a hum of Sonido, almost certain to reappear in one of Ichigo's blind spots and attempt a surprise attack. Ichigo's theory was quickly proven correct when he sensed the Arrancar approaching from directly above, and hastily crossed his arms over his head to defend against the incoming attack.

Oddly enough, the sound generated by the impact was more akin to metal striking metal, rather than flesh.

The blade bit deeper into his forearm than it usually did this time. The extra force generated by Grimmjow's fall allowed him to penetrate Ichigo's defenses and actually draw blood for the first time in quite a while.

" **Ow!"** This time Ichigo couldn't hold it back. **"God dammit! That could have taken my arm off, you ass!** _ **Again**_ **!"**

Grimmjow performed a rather impressive back flip by using Ichigo's chest as a springboard – which the teen barely even felt through his reinforced skin – and landed nimbly on his feet next to an applauding Orihime. "But it didn't," Grimmjow countered casually, very pleased with the outcome. "Admit it, I'm helping you get better at this."

" **Oh yeah,** _ **that's**_ **your main** **interest** **here."** Thick as syrup, the sarcasm was. **"The fact that you get to cut me up as much as you want has nothing to do with it, I'm sure."** Even with his Hollow Mask on, Ichigo's eyeroll didn't go unnoticed by the other party.

Grimmjow shrugged, grinning shamelessly. "Your words, not mine."

Tilting his head, Ichigo grinned right back, and Grimmjow knew him well enough by now to read his expressions through the mask. **"The corners of your eyes are looking a little green there, Grimm,"** he teased.

"Bullshit they are!" Grimmjow snapped back in disbelief, quickly turning to face the mirror Orihime had learned to always have on hand while the boys were training. Both she and Ichigo snickered when Grimmjow saw the truth for himself and angrily began stringing profanities together.

Ichigo was secretly very much relieved that Orihime wasn't bothered by the sound anymore; his laughter was quite frankly _demonic_ when he had his mask on. When Ichigo had asserted it couldn't possibly be as bad as she was making it out to be, she had secretly recorded it with her phone and played it back when Ichigo was least expecting it.

Suffice to say, he nearly pissed himself. For whatever reason, Orihime had then decided to set the recording as her notification sound for text messages. Ichigo was slowly beginning to suspect that her ditzy personality was really just a front that allowed her to fuck with people all while making it look like she wasn't doing it on purpose. She had already gotten varied responses from their classmates due to the new ringtone. Keigo for one, actually _had_ pissed himself a little bit.

"Do you need me to heal you, Kurosaki-kun?"

**"Nah."** He held out his arms for her to examine. Most of the cuts he had sustained during their spar had already disappeared, and the remaining few were fading away as they watched. Even the wound from Grimmjow's last strike, which had broken through his Hierro, had already stopped bleeding and was steadily shrinking. **"** **I'm getting the hang of Regenerating."**

For eleven days straight, Ichigo had barely ever left the basement training room at Urahara's. Every single day, he spent hours on end trying to get that stupid, oversized poking stick to work, but he made frustratingly little progress and Ichigo could only weather the repeated failures for so long without losing his mind.

Still, Urahara believed he was doing far better than expected. Taking into account Ichigo's nearly nonexistent control over his Reiatsu when he began, combined with the fact that he had known fuck-all about Kido when they started their training, the man said he was actually impressed by Ichigo's progress. He had equated using the Longinus to casting a level ninety Kido, only without the need for a Spirit Chant since the weapon's internal matrix essentially substituted for one.

Tessai had even taught him some low-level Bakudo, believing that having a feel for the basics would make the process easier for Ichigo to grasp. They had tried some Hado spells as well, but those persistently continued to blow up in Ichigo's face - even the ones that weren't supposed to be remotely explosive. It hadn't taken long for them to give up on that approach. Tessai's mustache still hadn't grown back.

And sure, he could now cast _Sai_ and _Hainawa_ (and had tested them extensively on Grimmjow) but the matrix inside the Longinus was easily twenty times more complex than either of those comparatively simple spells. And they were running out of time.

Since Kon was taking over for him at school, Ichigo's friends now occasionally came to visit him down here. If nothing else, it helped break the monotony at least. Tatsuki, Mizuiro, Keigo, and even Chizuru had of course seen through the deception right away, and demanded to know where the real Ichigo was. They had been given a very general overview of the situation, but it was only the 'core group' who knew exactly what was going on.

Orihime and Chad were fully confident that Ichigo would succeed in forcing the Hollow Lord to slumber once more, and even Ishida had, in his own way, expressed his support. Nevertheless Ichigo knew that all of them had started doing some training of their own. Not necessarily to prepare for the event that he should fail, but because they knew that even without Angra Mainyu to worry about, there were still three of his servants running around freely, plus the enslaved Hyperion.

His family dropped by occasionally as well, with Yuzu getting up extra early every single day so she could give him a Bento box before she had to go to school. Ichigo didn't have the heart to tell her that with no physical body available, he was unable to eat any of it. At least Grimmjow didn't go hungry, he supposed. While in his Gigai, he could in fact eat the food safely, and had even developed quite an appetite for Yuzu's cooking.

While the visits from friends and family were great, and went a long way toward preserving his sanity, Ichigo had to admit that it was Grimmjow who played the biggest part in keeping him grounded.

Not even a single day had gone by where he hadn't seen the Arrancar since his training began. They both stubbornly held on to the excuse that they only spent so much time together for training, since the Hogyoku had fundamentally altered the way in which their powers worked and as such they needed to relearn many things from scratch, but truthfully? They actually _enjoyed_ each others company. Ichigo wasn't sure whether he, Grimmjow, or the remarkably perceptive Orihime was most surprised by that.

Their training sessions consisted of Grimmjow trying to get Ichigo to use his Hollow abilities more freely, while he himself did the exact opposite by suppressing his Hollow side while fighting, in order to strengthen his underdeveloped Shinigami side.

The voice in Grimmjow's Inner World had even gone so far as to forbid him from using Resurrección until he learned to maintain a proper balance, and the stern restriction had paid off. He could already make his Mask Fragment disappear at will, but the green accents around his eyes were a bit harder to get rid of, as Ichigo liked to remind him. Unexpectedly, his Hollow Hole had slowly begun to shrink once Grimmjow began the control exercises, and was down to roughly the diameter of a can of deodorant by now. Ichigo measured. While it felt weird for it be so small now, it wasn't necessarily a _bad_ weird feeling according to the Arrancar.

Right around the same time that he had succeeded in curbing his Hollow Instincts somewhat, the Forest of Murder in his soul had stopped trying quite so hard to eviscerate him. He could actually walk on the metallic grass now without getting his feet flayed, for one. When he tried to approach the heart of the forest however, where he knew he would find the owner of the voice, all bets were suddenly off and the slightest misstep would once again cost him a limb, or at least a finger.

Ichigo on the other hand, had progressed to the point where he could not only use all his former abilities again without difficulty, as well as a few new ones thanks to the changes his Zanpakuto had undergone, but he was now even able to keep his mask on for well over an hour without rest. Additionally, he had learned to reinforce his skin with Hierro on select body parts, as well as regenerate most minor injuries at will. There was one time where Grimmjow had (accidentally) almost amputated his arm when Ichigo's concentration had lapsed and the Arrancar had essentially cut into normal skin, but luckily Orihime had been present and quickly undid the damage.

" **Alright,"** Ichigo announced, letting his mask dissolve into black Reishi, "I think I'm gonna go back to stabbing mini-Angra over there." He jerked a thumb over his shoulder toward the practice dummy, which now had a terrible impression of the Hollow Lord's mummy-like visage drawn on it in white marker, courtesy of Rukia. "I hate thinking about how Ukitake's been stuck in that tower all this time."

"Fine." Grimmjow was still looking in the mirror, making sure the green marks were completely gone this time. "I'm gonna meditate for a bit and try not to get murdered by my subconscious. Wake me up if I start losing too much blood, will you Kurosaki?"

Orihime dusted herself off and collected her schoolbag. "In that case, I'll go pay Hacchi and the other Visored a visit." She threw a worried glance to where the Longinus stood propped up against one of the larger rock formations. "Please be careful not to overload it again, Kurosaki-kun," she urged him. She had been present for two of the... accidents, so her concern was not unwarranted.

"Oh come on!" Ichigo complained. "That only happened like... well... five times. Still though!"

Grimmjow snickered. "That third time is still the best one; damn thing flew all the way to the other side of the room! Took us half an hour to dig it out after that."

"Yes, counting the time you and Yoruichi wasted in measuring the exact distance it traveled," Ichigo added sourly.

Utterly unrepentant, Grimmjow shrugged as if to say 'Worth it'.

"Anyway, I still wonder about what you and Hachi are up to," Ichigo said as he picked up the Longinus. Despite the many 'mishaps', the device still had nary a scratch on it. "You've spent at least as much time over at the Vizard warehouse as you've been here."

"Oh, you know," the other redhead airily replied. "Girl stuff."

Grimmjow and Ichigo shared a look, before pinning Orihime with dual blank stares. "Girl stuff," Grimmjow repeated flatly. "With Hachi," Ichigo added with equal amounts of disbelief.

Orihime just smiled sweetly and started to climb the ladder. "See you later!" They watched her until she disappeared through the opening in the ceiling.

Chewing on his lower lip, Ichigo stated: "I feel like this should worry me more."

* * *

Cheerfully humming to herself, Orihime walked down the hallway with a bunch of her fairies circling around her head, all of them chattering happily among each other.

"Hey, woman!" Tsubaki called out, floating directly in front of her face to catch her attention. "Are we training with the big guy again today?" He fist-pumped when Orihime nodded. "Awesome! I've almost figured out how to transform into a-"

Their conversation was abruptly halted when they ran right into Uryu and Urahara, the latter of whom also froze up in the middle of a sentence. Both men had their arms full with what looked like a box of ancient texts in Uryu's case, and a box full of differently shaped metal arrows in Urahara's. They all blinked owlishly at each other, clearly not having expected to run into anyone else.

Urahara cleared his throat to speak, but then the door leading to the downstairs lab suddenly burst open and Chad stumbled out, dripping wet and covered from head to toe in moist sand... with Nel attached to his arm for some reason. Again, silence reigned. Chad's mouth was still open from when he had cut himself off mid-sentence.

Nobody said anything. Nobody moved. Except for Nel, who was waving happily at Orihime.

"Well, I for one, saw nothing," Uryu stated impassively.

"Oh good, neither did I!" Orihime played along easily, taking the whole situation in stride. Ayame, who was hiding behind her left ear, pretended to close an imaginary zipper over her mouth.

Chad just grunted in what everyone assumed was agreement.

They lingered for a beat, then set off for their respective destinations, pretending the previous two minutes hadn't happened.

* * *

Two days later, on Day Thirteen of his self-imposed confinement, Ichigo finally snapped.

"I am so _done_ with this crap!" he roared while the Longinus shut down and expelled Ichigo's Reiatsu yet again – albeit in a more controlled manner this time. His poor arms had suffered enough abuse already, and he wasn't about to give Grimmjow another reason to make fun of him.

For a moment, it looked like he was going to send the source of his ire flying, but decided not to at the very last second. Even if the device had proven near-indestructible so far, he wasn't going to push his luck.

Instead, he picked up the two hundred kilos worth of Mini-Angra and hurled the poor sod head-first into a boulder, which, he was rather satisfied to see, split right down the middle.

"So it's fine when _you_ get all violent, but when I do it, I have 'anger issues'?"

Ichigo turned his glare on Grimmjow, but felt his anger quickly dissipate when he saw the state the Arrancar was in. He blinked. "Dude, are you alright?"

Grimmjow, sitting in a puddle of his own blood and covered from head to do in weeping cuts, merely shrugged. "I lost my temper with my Inner World and tried blasting through the foliage with a Cero. It didn't like that." He looked down at his lower half, much of which had been dyed red. "I may need a change of clothes," he stated rather calmly. "Also, a medic," he added as an afterthought.

Sighing in exasperation, Ichigo picked up the ever-present First Aid Kit and sat down facing Grimmjow's back. Familiar with the routine by now, Grimmjow took off his jacket and began treating the worst injuries on his arms and legs, while Ichigo focused on his friend's head and back, which he couldn't see for himself.

"I think we need a break," Ichigo said, stating the obvious.

"Thank fuck. I was afraid you were gonna stay cooped up in here for the rest of the month." He winced when Ichigo sprayed some sort of coagulant on the gash on his temple to make the wound clot over. It was hardly the first time Ichigo had needed to patch him up, but that didn't make the process any more pleasant.

"Oh? And why would that be a problem for you? Don't tell me I'm the only one willing to put up with you," Ichigo teased, earning himself an over-the-shoulder, extended middle finger. "Anything in particular you wanna do?"

Grimmjow didn't, so Ichigo considered their options. Both of them were currently spirits, and by extension invisible to the vast majority of people. They could probably get in anywhere they wanted. "We could sneak into a theater and go see a movie," he suggested. "Or we could play video games; see how Nel and Harribel are doing; go to the pool..." he listed off, just stating whatever happened to come to mind. He wasn't that big on video games himself, but just seeing Grimmjow's reaction would probably be worth it.

"What the hell is a pool?" Grimmjow interrupted, turning his head to look at Ichigo.

"You know, a swimming pool? Like an indoor lake meant for swimming?" Ichigo shook his head in exasperation when Grimmjow just raised his eyebrow again. "How can you not know what a swimming pool is?"

"Kurosaki, I've lived in a fucking desert my entire life. How the hell would I know about 'swimming pools'?" Indeed, while Grimmjow had proven himself to be by no means unintelligent, he still lacked a lot of what was considered common knowledge in the Living World.

"Does that mean you don't know how to swim either?" Ichigo asked in disbelief.

"Again, which part of 'I live in a fucking desert' do you not get?" Grimmjow bit out in annoyance. Ichigo just stared at him with an odd expression. "I can't believe you don't know how to swim. Oh my god," he fake-gasped. "There was no need to fight in the war at all! None of you can swim because you all live in a desert! We could have just flooded Las Noches and been done with it!" Ichigo exclaimed, like he had come to a brilliant realization.

Grimmjow punched him in the shoulder. Ichigo just laughed. Things quickly devolved from there on out.

Their bickering led to pretend-fighting, which rapidly led to _actual_ fighting. When they finally calmed down after causing... well, rather a lot of property damage actually, it took just a single teasing comment from Ichigo to bring them right back around to arguing, which somehow ended up with _Grimmjow_ trying to convince _Ichigo_ to take him to the pool, simply because he couldn't stand the thought of Ichigo being able to do something he couldn't.

A quick trip across town later, the pair stood at the edge of an empty swimming pool. "I still can't believe we're actually doing this," Ichigo stated demurely. An open window on the second floor of the building had provided a convenient access point into the facility. Most people tended not to be too concerned about burglars who could walk on thin air, after all.

While Ichigo had already resigned himself to the absurd situation they had somehow gotten themselves into, Grimmjow appeared to be having second thoughts now that he was actually here. Very cautiously, he peered over the edge, as if he was afraid the water would suck him in. Having already gotten this far though, Ichigo figured they might as well go all the way. In fact... if he played his cards right, this could turn out to be rather amusing. Unbeknownst to Grimmjow, the corner of Ichigo's mouth slowly curved upward.

After making sure there were no security camera's (and what would two spirits swimming even look like to the average person? Human-shaped holes in the water?) Ichigo stripped down to his underwear and dove in. Grimmjow watched skeptically as the teen effortlessly cut through the water and resurfaced in the center of the pool, shaking the water out of his hair. "Are you standing on Reishi?" Grimmjow questioned suspiciously.

"I'm _swimming_ ," Ichigo informed him cheekily. "I could teach you, if you want." He then casually began doing laps while swimming backwards, maintaining eye contact with Grimmjow the entire time. The man's eyes narrowed. "Or you could just stand there and watch..." The innocent tone in which he said it instantly had the Arrancar on alert, waiting for the other shoe to drop. "I guess you'll just have to hope that you'll never fight anyone who can manipulate water. Oh wait, Harribel can actually do that, can't she?"

The effects were instantaneous. From the way Grimmjow's face tightened when he realized that with Harribel around, he wasn't safe from drowning even in the middle of a freaking desert, Ichigo knew he had him. He could practically see the gears turning in the other man's head.

Grumbling to himself, Grimmjow aggressively shrugged off his jacket and pants before very carefully lowering himself into the water. ' _Hook, line and sinker,'_ Ichigo gleefully thought to himself. At first Grimmjow just clung to the edge of the pool, but it didn't take all that long for him to get at least the 'floating' part down pat.

"Now what?" he muttered from between clenched teeth, clearly not happy about having Ichigo for an instructor. The teen swam over to him and demonstrated how to do the breaststroke. He even advised him to start off with the individual arm and leg motions while holding on to the edge, and to start out in the shallow end, but Grimmjow was nothing if not stubborn. After all, if Kurosaki could do it, how hard could it be? He pushed off against the wall, took a deep breath, and dove forward, trying to repeat the movements he had seen Ichigo make.

Unsurprisingly, he sank like a brick. _Just as Ichigo knew would happen._

Swallowing a mouthful of water, the Arrancar started flailing wildly in an attempt to keep his head above water. Before panic could really set in though, Ichigo had already grabbed hold of his wrist and pulled him back to the edge, which he desperately clamped on to for dear life once he could reach it.

Smiling serenely, almost _angelically_ even, Ichigo suggested: "Why don't we head to the shallow end first?"

That was probably when Grimmjow realized he'd been had.

A little later, he was nonetheless obediently practicing the breaststroke in the shallow end of the pool. Ichigo was standing next to him, holding a hand under his stomach to keep him from sinking. The grin on the redhead's face might have been described as 'Evil' by the outside observer.

"This was all a trick, wasn't it?" Grimmjow muttered lowly. The tips of his ears were burning red.

"Hmm? What was that?"

"Some sort of reverse psychology bullshit you pulled. You only brought up the pool because you _knew_ I couldn't swim," he accused Ichigo, still performing the motions. "Then you just kept bringing it up and rubbing it in my face until I agreed to do it. All so you could see me flailing around like an idiot."

Ichigo flashed him the sweetest, most disgustingly saccharine smile Grimmjow had ever seen on him. Frankly, with all the scowling the kid did, he hadn't thought the Soul Reaper capable of such an expression. "I'm sure I have no idea what you're talking about," the bastard lied through his fucking teeth. "By the way, keep your fingers closed; you're letting all the water through. You'll get nowhere like that."

Grimmjow audibly ground his teeth together.

"Also, your eyes are turning green again."

Grimmjow had never come quite so close to screaming out of sheer frustration.

When they finally made it back to the underground training room – by which time Ichigo's smirk had not abated in the slightest – Ichigo retrieved Mini-Angra from where it still awkwardly lay in a crumpled heap and put the dummy flat on its back again.

Still stewing over his humiliation and looking for all the world like a drowned cat, Grimmjow just watched, probably coming as close as anyone ever had to killing a person with looks alone. His Reiatsu, which clung to him like a haze of **Doom** , even had Urahara and Yoruichi coming down to the basement to see what all the fuss was about.

He outright _refused_ to look at them when they approached. Especially the woman. Her laughing at him now would probably send him into a murderous rage, which would be very counterproductive after all the meditating he'd done to suppress his Hollow instincts.

"Here goes," Ichigo announced, holding the Longinus over the dummy's torso.

In spite of himself, Grimmjow looked up and caught Ichigo's gaze before he drove the massive stake down. Grimmjow's frown lifted without him even realizing it. Seeing the fire in Kurosaki's eyes, and the confident smile on his lips convinced Grimmjow that this time would be different.

With a gentle hum, the device whirred to life in Ichigo's hands and the lights along its side lit up. The hum became louder and more high-pitched as Ichigo pumped more and more energy into the weapon. Finally, the sharp tip hovering over Mini-Angra's stomach began to glow brightly, small arcs of static electricity dancing along its sides as it seemed to vibrate in place.

Face scrunched up in concentration, Ichigo brutally rammed the massive stake straight down into the dummy's guts, and this time it sunk in like the Gigai was made out of butter rather than ultra-dense, reinforced Reishi.

Right away, the three spectators had to shield their eyes, both from the blinding light as well as from the gust of hot air that buffeted them. The sound was indescribable; it was like listening to a jackhammer pound away at concrete, if you replaced said jackhammer with a lightning bolt and the concrete with a metal sounding board.

Glowing cracks appeared all over the surface of the reinforced Gigai, sparks flying and arcs of pure energy emerging from where the Longinus' tip had sunk in. With a resounding _**CRACK**_ like thunder, the practice dummy completely disintegrated all at once, and sent debris flying everywhere. A blood red shield winked into existence at the shopkeeper's command and protected the three onlookers from the flying shrapnel in the nick of time.

In the sudden relative silence after the explosion, the subsiding hum produced by the Longinus and the 'thump' sounds of rubble raining down all around them were all the louder. Urahara dropped the Blood Mist shield at the same time Ichigo set the stake down.

"So," the teen spoke happily, "Who wants to watch me stab the Hollow God?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: A pretty short chapter I admit, but the stuff that comes after this is very different in tone, so I thought it best to keep this as a separate chapter. Also, I rewrote the first part of chapter 9 because it was frankly terrible, but I didn't change anything important. All I did was remove a lot of unnecessary details, and make it easier to read overall.
> 
> Ichigo is finally ready to return to the Repentance Tower to face off with Angra. Meanwhile, he and Grimmjow have both been getting in touch with their Hollow and Shinigami sides respectively, and the eventual payoff will definitely be worth it. Ichigo's friends haven't exactly been twiddling their thumbs either. Ever since I started writing this (and damn, it's been a while) I've wanted to make Orihime into just as capable a fighter as her friends, and I finally get to do it!
> 
> In fact, I may even like her new skillset more than what I'm planning to do with Grimmjow. *Cackles evilly*
> 
> This may be the most lighthearted chapter yet, but what comes next is probably the darkest part of the story so far. I'm not gonna go down the Grimdark route but... well, shit is definitely about to hit the fan. Next chapter might take a bit longer than two weeks to come out, since I'm in the middle of exams again (seriously, when aren't I?) but about half of it is already written so it shouldn't take too long.
> 
> See you then, and remember to leave a comment telling me what you think!


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no real excuse for taking this long to update other than being a lazy bastard, and stuff IRL keeping me busy. I'll put a longer A/N at the end of this chapter, but let me start off with a short recap so you're hopefully not completely lost after all this time without an update. Also, I mentioned it before, but just to remind you all: parts of this chapter get pretty dark. That M-rating is not just for show.
> 
> Recap:  
> Having recently regained his Shinigami powers, Ichigo hurries to learn how to use the Longinus, a tool designed to force Angra Mainyu - the Hollow Lord - to slumber once more and prevent disaster. On the side, he and Grimmjow spend time training together to learn how to use their new abilities after the Hogyoku's intervention.  
> Ichigo slowly learns to accept and utilize his Hollow side, while Grimmjow has been dreaming of a jungle of steel, which he now realizes is actually his Inner World, where his Zanpakuto Spirit dwells. As he attempts to reach the heart of the jungle, his control over his Shinigami side steadily improves.
> 
> Having finally succeeded at utilizing the Longinus, Ichigo heads back to the Repentance Tower, where Angra Mainyu awaits...

### Chapter 18: Break

Ichigo had sorely underestimated just how difficult this endeavor would prove to be.

On more than one occasion, he had come closer to crying than he was willing to admit. As the days went by however, any sadness and horror he might have felt had steadily been replaced by disgust and unconcealed hatred.

Ukitake and Urahara could only watch, growing steadily more ashamed of themselves with each passing day as Ichigo continued to lose weight, and the dark circles under his eyes grew ever more pronounced. Both men knew full-well that this should have been _their_ responsibility, not that of a sixteen-year-old, human boy.

The ungodly sound of the Longinus trying to rip apart Angra Mainyu's rotten core grated on their ears. A jet of blue fire occasionally burst forth from the puncture wound in Angra's abdomen, even as black sludge continued to leak out in a steady, unceasing flow and pooled onto the floor. They had provided a slightly raised platform for Ichigo to stand on so he wouldn't come in contact with that putrid ichor... or at least, so that it wouldn't happen again.

The first time Ichigo had drawn 'blood' from Angra Mainyu, they hadn't been too worried.

But when he accidentally stepped in a puddle of the vile substance, it had rotted away not just his sandals and socks, but the very flesh of his foot as well, and left the teen screaming in agony. There was still a blackened, open wound on the ball of his right foot that neither Unohana nor Orihime could rid him of in spite of their best efforts.

Ichigo cursed himself for ever thinking this would be easy. He'd been so very confident when he finally succeeded in destroying Urahara's special Gigai. How stupid he'd been.

With the dummy, all he had needed to do was essentially feed his Reiatsu into the weapon and try not to have it backfire. The real thing on the other hand, actively fought back and opposed Ichigo's efforts at every turn. He could feel Angra's Reiatsu clashing with his, and while it couldn't possibly overpower his own thanks to the Longinus concentrating and amplifying it, Angra was still more than capable of throwing off the delicate balance required for the weapon to work properly.

Simply getting it to function at all was difficult enough – compensating on the fly for the massive fluctuations that damned mummy was causing, all while having to maximize his own Reiatsu output was quite simply beyond him. Even Ukitake, with his centuries of experience, was struggling badly at this point, and Angra was only getting stronger with as time went on.

Then there were the 'distraction' tactics the demon employed...

Ichigo's hands shook from gripping the massive stake so tightly. He didn't even hear the awful screeching it produced anymore. The symphony of tortured wails in his head drowned out everything else.

The screaming had only been the start of it. The more time he spent in Angra's presence, the more he familiarized himself with the cesspool of depravity that was the Hollow Lord's mind.

It had begun with just brief flashes of _something_ in his mind's eye. The mental images had been blurry and disappeared again too quickly for Ichigo to make any sense of. Even so, they had filled him with a sense of dread even then.

It wasn't long before the images took on more detail: the vague blurs of color began resembling humanoid shapes. More and more red started to seep into the images as time went on, and formerly tranquil imagery became hellspace criss-crossed with rivers of blood.

Ichigo had seen terrible things. Now however, he _longed_ for the days where they had been just images. His visits to the tower had essentially become one long, patched-together montage of inhuman atrocities.

He looked on as a farmer lay in the mud, gasping for breath as a torrent of red poured forth from a wound in his abdomen, and the soldiers raiding his village trampled him underfoot. Saw men and women alike being raped, their shrill cries nearly splitting apart his eardrums. Watched as children were burned alive in their own homes while their mother wailed hysterically, unable to save them. And that had been in the last fifteen minutes alone...

Truthfully, the only reason he could continue to bear it was because the visions still played out like a film, allowing Ichigo to at least dissociate what he saw from real life somewhat. He didn't know how much longer that would work though. He was reaching a point where he could almost _smell_ the things in these visions.

But what _really_ got to him, more than anything else, was the pull of the **Void**.

Staring into Angra Mainyu's eyes was like staring into a black hole. His irises may have been black as pitch, but the slit pupils in their center were like tears in the very fabric of reality, gateways to a world of horrors beyond imagining.

And stare Ichigo did. His hateful glaring was the only act of defiance he had at this point, and he wanted the monster lying at his feet to know just how deeply he loathed it.

"Kurosaki-san." Ukitake's gentle voice and the hand on his shoulder had Ichigo breaking eye-contact with Angra. "I'll take over from here. You should go get some rest."

"I don't have time to rest, Ukitake-san," he argued tiredly. Even so, Ichigo still powered the Longinus down. He couldn't afford to split his concentration while using the weapon. "Every minute I spend resting is one minute it gets closer to waking up."

"Yes, but you won't accomplish anything by pushing yourself past your limit like this," Urahara admonished him in a gentle tone that nonetheless left no room for argument. While Ukitake took Ichigo's place, Urahara reassuringly laid both hands on Ichigo's shoulders, and gently led him away.

After everything he had been forced to see over the past two hours, the basic human contact was like a balm to Ichigo's soul.

Their began their long ascent back up to ground level, Urahara doing his best to distract Ichigo with idle chatter as they went. Ichigo knew they would head to the Fourth Division barracks first.

He had been obligated to visit a therapist after each 'session' with Angra by literally everyone who knew what Ichigo had to endure on a daily basis. This was a pretty select group since Ichigo didn't feel the need to burden his human friends or his sisters with the knowledge, and even then only Urahara, and Ukitake in particular, knew just how bad it tended to get.

Rukia, Renji and his father had only been given a vague, general idea of the things Angra showed him, at Ichigo's insistence. They would get far too overprotective of him should they become aware of the specifics, and there wasn't any time to waste on abating their concerns, no matter how well-intentioned they may have been.

The only one he openly talked to about his experiences, aside from his assigned therapist, was Grimmjow. The man had seen some gruesome things during his time working for Aizen, and had been responsible for much of it himself. It helped, having someone who understood what he was dealing with, without feeling sorry for him.

While Grimmjow had become a very different person now that he could keep his Hollow Instincts under control, he had by no means gone soft. He may have mellowed out somewhat, but felt little to no remorse whatsoever when it came to his past actions.

" _That shit's all in the past,"_ he had told Ichigo when they got to talking after one of their spars. _"Just because I don't want to kill everything around me anymore doesn't mean I'm gonna go begging for forgiveness for the crap I pulled. I won't make excuses for what I did, but at the time I just did what I felt I had to."_

Honestly, Ichigo could live with that.

It wasn't all that difficult to think of the 'new' Grimmjow as a separate person altogether. After his metamorphosis over the past few weeks, he had pretty much become Ichigo's closest friend and confidant. Maybe it was selfish of him in a way, but Ichigo didn't want to lose that, even if people he cared about had gotten hurt at Grimmjow's hands during the war.

Thinking about the man brought an unbidden, barely noticeable smile to Ichigo's lips. Frankly, he'd rather just skip the whole therapy bullshit right now. What he _really_ wanted to do was go home, take a long shower, and then just shoot the shit with Grimmjow for a couple hours so he could unwind a little.

 _'I wonder what he's doing right now,'_ Ichigo thought to himself as Urahara continued to talk about inane topics.

_'Hopefully he's not getting turned into a pincushion again by his own subconscious...'_

* * *

Grimmjow was getting turned into a pincushion again by his own subconscious. Honestly though? He was _way_ past the point of caring.

Finally - _finally,_ he had found a navigable path through the dense foliage leading to the heart of the Forest of Murder.

Every metallic flower and leaf he passed was as razor-sharp as ever, but the grass at least he could walk on. He sustained a few more injuries along the way, but nothing he wasn't used to by now. At last, after all that time spent wrestling his way through the thick of the jungle, Grimmjow emerged from the silvery-gray tunnel of killer vegetation and arrived at a clearing.

Grimmjow had almost forgotten what the moon in this world even looked like after being under the thick canopy of vegetation for so long. At present, it shone down on the clearing serenely and unobstructed.

 **"I see you have finally managed to reach this place,"** the familiar voice spoke, only this time there was a face he could match with it. With a neutral expression, Grimmjow approached the regal feline.

"Pantera," he greeted, his tone of voice laced with an almost fond sort of exasperation.

The giant white panther tilted her head, revealing her deadly canines in a bashful smile. **"So you _did_ know it was me."**

Shaking his head, Grimmjow let out a huff. "Kurosaki figured out right away that you had to be some kind of Zanpakuto Spirit when I told him about you. Knowing that, it wasn't hard putting two and two together. Besides," he crouched down so he was at eye-level with her, "Who else but you could forcibly prevent me from using Resurrección?"

Pantera purred in approval, lazily wagging her hairless, bony tail. **"Looks like you saw right through me,"** she stated, sounding completely unrepentant. **"I will of course lift that restriction now. If the Forest has allowed you to reach this place, then the purpose of this exercise has been achieved."**

Her posture suddenly shifting, Pantera looked away from Grimmjow, coiling her tail around her legs as she tried to make herself smaller. **"I must admit that I had expected you to be angrier with me."**

Smiling a bit crookedly, Grimmjow reached over and patted her on the head. It felt like petting a skull thanks to the bone-like armor covering her entire body. She cringed at first, then cautiously looked up in askance. "I know that wasn't you," he explained, referring to the way this world had drawn blood from him many times over. "That was this world itself, my own subconscious, trying to teach me a lesson, wasn't it?"

 **"Yes,"** she admitted uneasily, **"But I am a part of that subconscious. Even if I can't control this world at will, I still allowed it to hurt you."**

Grimmjow just shrugged. "The only way a stubborn bastard like me was ever gonna learn was by beating - or in this case, _carving_ it into me."

Panthera stared at him, her mouth hanging open. It was quite an unusual look on a panther the size of a small horse. **"Then... you knew all along?"**

He nodded. "It wasn't just about learning to manage my Hollow instincts, was it? It was about learning to function as a _person_. If I just continued acting on every stupid impulse like I used to, I'd never get anywhere." He smiled wryly at the murderous vegetation surrounding them. "And this world was more than happy to keep throwing that in my face. I thought myself a King, but if I drive everyone around me away until I'm left on my own, I'm a pretty piss-poor excuse for one aren't I?"

Pantera laughed then – a gentle yet surprisingly low and heavy sound. **"You are far more perceptive than I had imagined, Grimmjow. I can't express how proud I am to call you my wielder."**

"I figured it out a while ago actually," he admitted. "What I don't understand is why it took until now for me to be allowed in here."

 **"Consciously realizing the need to change is one thing, but even then it's not just going to happen overnight."** Pantera explained seriously. **"You have already matured a lot, Grimmjow, but compared to your human and Shinigami acquaintances, you are but a newborn babe when it comes to dealing with your own emotions."**

Grimmjow frowned. While he didn't like the comparison Pantera made, he couldn't exactly deny it either. Even now, he still got surprised occasionally when he laughed simply because he found something _funny_ , rather than out of sadistic glee.

 **"As for what finally tipped the scales..."** Pantera went on, **"If I were to hazard a guess, I would say it was that boy."**

Grimmjow couldn't help but feel like a deer caught in headlights when her eyes locked onto his own so unwaveringly, as if she could see right through him. Hers were a slightly darker shade of blue than his own, he couldn't help but note.

 **"You care about him,"** she stated factually. Grimmjow didn't correct her. Couldn't, really. **"You are genuinely concerned about his well-being. An utterly selfless emotion like that... it is anathema to the egotistic, self-preserving instincts of a Hollow. It is proof of your growth."  
**

The pair simply considered each other for a while as Grimmjow digested Pantera's words. Now, he understood what that look in Kurosaki's eyes was when he talked about his Old Man Zangetsu, and more recently, Shiro as well. This was what it was like to have a mentor, someone you could trust and rely on one-hundred percent. Grimmjow knew instinctively that he and Pantera had been _made_ to be partners.

His only regret was that they hadn't met sooner. She might have helped prevent him from making some really stupid choices.

He cleared his throat. "So? How does this thing work? Do you represent both sides of me, or is there some pitch-black version of me lurking around here somewhere to represent my Shinigami side as well?"

Based on Shiro's appearance in Ichigo's Inner World, it had seemed like a fair bet. Grimmjow was at least self-aware enough to recognize that he might have a challenging time getting along with a darker-colored carbon copy of himself.

 **"Not quite,"** Pantera chuckled. **"Follow me."** She stood up and sauntered towards the river running through the center of the clearing. The river ran across the entire length of the valley floor, essentially dividing the forest into two halves, but here at the very center it widened enough to be considered a decently-sized pond.

Pantera led him to the edge of the water, where she sat back down on her haunches. **"Look."**

A faint silver light glittered on the water's surface. At first he thought it was just the moon's reflection, but as Grimmjow watched, ripples disturbed the surface of the pond, and slowly a massive, constantly shifting ball of mercury rose up from the depths. Once all the water had finished dripping off, the mysterious sphere hung at eye-height, suspended by nothing.

"What the hell is that?" Grimmjow asked Pantera as the surface of the ball subtly shifted, ripples appearing and disappearing in almost hypnotic patterns. It was like there was something inside of it. Something _alive_.

 **"It is the embryonic form of... my counterpart, I suppose you could say. The other spirit, who will hold dominion over your Soul Reaper powers."** She looked at her own reflection in the quicksilver.

**"He is still fast asleep, but his presence grows stronger every day. Soon, he will be ready to tell us his name..."**

* * *

 The next day, six men and women had gathered in one of the larger rooms at Urahara's house. Their faces held tense expressions, and none of them seemed eager to be the first to break the silence. The clock was ticking however, and it wouldn't be much longer before Ichigo returned from his daily ordeal in the tower.

"Look, he's not going to be able to keep this up much longer." Rukia was the one to finally shatter the stifling quiet. "We've all seen what these visits to the tower are doing to him. He must have lost at least five pounds, and it's barely been a full week!" She started pacing, getting agitated by how unresponsive the others in the room were being. Most of them were staring at the floor.

"Say something!" She snapped, making Orihime flinch. "You're all Ichigo's friends too, aren't you? When is the last time he's gotten so much as a decent night's sleep?"

Uryu shifted uneasily. "He started taking sleeping pills," he admitted. "Tessai told me. Pretty strong ones too, though they're not doing anything to help with the nightmares."

Rukia stared at him in disbelief. Orihime had gone pale as a sheet, while Chad and Renji looked like they had just been slapped in the face. "How long have you known about this?" Rukia almost hissed.

"Three days," he answered unflinchingly. When Rukia started angrily sputtering at him, Uryu's calm facade broke. "What was I supposed to do then, Kuchiki?!" he snapped. "Give you all something more to worry about when there was nothing any of us could do about it?"

"Nothing we could do?" she repeated, her voice steadily rising in pitch. "We could have at least talked to him! _Asked_ him if there was anything we could do to help!"

"Oh yes, because he hasn't made it abundantly clear already that he doesn't _want_ to talk to us about it!" Uryu bit back sarcastically. "Precisely because he doesn't want us to worry! Why do you think he spends his nights here at Urahara's to begin with? Solely in order to prevent causing his family further distress! You know what a stubborn fool he can be in situations like this!"

"This is bullshit." Uryu and Rukia broke off their argument the very second Renji spoke. The low tone in which he said the words unnerved them more than he could have done by yelling. Renji was _never_ quiet.

"We're supposed to be the Soul Reapers here. Protectors of the afterlife," he muttered bitterly. "We're older than all you humans put together, so why do we have to send in a sixteen-year-old brat to deal with that... that _thing_ by himself, while we sit here with our thumbs up our asses?!" By the end of his sentence, he had in fact started yelling. It wasn't doing much to ease the group's discomfort however.

"Because Ichigo's the only one who can." The sound of Chad's low, rumbling voice threw everyone off again, for the simple reason that he rarely bothered to speak, and when he did, it was usually worth listening. "Because he doesn't want anyone else to have to face that thing."

"That's not true," Renji countered angrily. "He's not the only one who could have done it. Zaraki was just as qualified as Ichigo was, two weeks ago. And don't even try to make excuses for him by saying he was still injured at the time," he told Rukia, "because that sure as hell didn't stop him from picking fights with the other idiots in his Division."

Rukia laughed haughtily at that; it was a strange, cold laugh that didn't suit her one bit. "As if I would make excuses for that useless hunk of meat," she scoffed icily. "Captain Kyoraku tried getting him to do it. While Ichigo worked himself to the bone for 13 days straight trying to get that damned poking stick to work, Zaraki got bored with it in two hours and ran off to go pick another fight. Two measly hours! I have half a mind to go over to the Eleventh right now and strangle him myself!"

Mustering up a watery smile, Orihime interjected: "I don't think your hands are big enough to fit around his neck though," she pointed out. It was a fairly weak and desperate attempt to lighten the mood, and they all knew it, including Orihime herself.

Her face fell when none of them so much as made an effort to slap on a smile, fake or not. She licked her lips. "Uryu," She addressed the Quincy, grasping at straws by this point, basically just trying to keep her friends from yelling at each other again. "You said you hadn't mentioned the sleeping pills earlier because there was nothing we could do. So why tell us now?"

Uryu shifted, wringing his hands in a nervous manner. "Because," he began uneasily, mindful of everyone's eyes on him. "I believe... or I fear, rather... that there may no longer be a point."

"A point to what?" Rukia questioned, not understanding what he meant, but already sensing beforehand that she wasn't going to like his answer.

"In sending Ichigo to that tower," he clarified. He continued to play with his hands, and focused his attention on them rather than meet anyone's eyes. "Angra Mainyu has regained a lot of his strength. Too much. They say even Ukitake can do nothing do delay him any further at this point." He swallowed thickly, feeling the disbelief, horror and anger of the others. "Ichigo went above and beyond. He did everything he conceivably could have. But..." He swallowed again, finally looking up. "I do not believe he, or anyone else for that matter, can prevent that thing from awakening anymore."

"Are you saying he did all this for noth-"

"Uryuu's probably right." Rukia harshly cut herself off again when Orihime spoke. "I saw the look in Ichigo's eyes," she went on, as if that explained everything.

The others all stared at her, seeming fearful of what she was about to say next. "He's not ready to give up yet, but I think he knows... that there's no way he'll succeed." She sniffed, blinking rapidly when she felt her eyes beginning to prickle. "If he keeps this up, he's going to burn himself out completely." She swallowed heavily. "And then, when the inevitable finally happens... he might just fall apart completely." Her voice was shaking somewhat, and she had to wipe her eyes as she got up from her seat. Everyone's crestfallen faces followed her as she walked over to the lone figure standing in the corner, keeping his distance from the group.

"Please, Grimmjow... will you talk to him?" she pleaded.

He was quiet for a moment, then asked: "Why me? You've all known him longer than I have. And I'm not exactly good at the whole 'talking' thing."

"That doesn't matter," she almost whispered. "After all, you're the only he confided in about what really goes on in that tower." Orihime smiled when the surprise showed on his face. "I could tell. Whatever it is, it's been eating away at you for days now. It's obvious you're worried."

He stared at her uneasily, then let out a deep sigh. It wasn't worth the trouble of trying to deny it. "Fine. I'll talk to him when he gets back." Grimmjow pushed off against the wall and strode out of the room without so much as a glance to any of the other people present. "Just don't expect he'll want to listen to me any more than he'll listen to any of you."

They all watched him leave through the sliding door. Soon after, Rukia came up to Orihime when she didn't move from that corner. Orihime couldn't quite manage to keep her shoulders from shaking.

"Hey... Are you okay?" The petite Shinigami asked, gently placing a hand on her arm.

Orihime turned to her, and sent her a watery smile. "I'm alright. It's just... it's selfish of me, but I can't help but wish that _I_ was the one Kurosaki-kun confided in. I kind of feel... like I missed my chance, you know?"

* * *

 Grimmjow was already waiting in what was essentially _their_ room now when Ichigo staggered inside later that evening. "Hey," the Soul Reaper greeted when their eyes met, surprised to find him sitting on his bed already. Ichigo slid the door shut behind him and walked over to his futon, where he promptly let himself fall down in a boneless heap.

"That bad?"

Ichigo covered his face with his hands and took a slow, deep breath. "It showed me some fires again," he eventually muttered from behind his hands.

Grimmjow grunted in understanding. He was no fan of fire himself, not after what Tosen had done to his arm.

"He's tried that before though," Grimmjow pointed out. "What made this time different?"

Ichigo finally dropped his hands and looked at him. Even Grimmjow couldn't quite hide his surprise upon seeing the state the teen was in. There were thick, dark circles under his eyes, while the 'whites' of the eyes themselves were almost more like 'reds' now with how starkly the veins in them stood out.

His skin was pale, and even his hair was a noticeably duller shade of orange than it usually was. Kuchiki had been right about him getting thinner too: Grimmjow thought he might be able to cut himself on those cheekbones if he wasn't careful. Of course, Kurosaki hadn't gone from being perfectly healthy to _this_ overnight, but with the conversation about the teen's declining health fresh in the back of his mind, it was hard not to notice just how unlike his regular self the young man currently looked. The hollow look he had in his eyes was particularly unsettling.

"It was like I was there," Ichigo explained, speaking in an oddly muted tone. "I could feel the heat of the flames. I could even - I could smell... them, burning." He trailed off, getting lost in the memories if the glassy look in his eyes was any indication.

Grimmjow could hardly stand it, seeing Kurosaki with an expression like that. He respected that cocky, stubborn brat. Hell, Grimmjow had even come to – and god, this was painful to admit - _care_ about him. Grimmjow barely resisted the urge to shudder.

Still, such a haunted, fragile look had no business being on Kurosaki's face. The brat was supposed to scowl; he was supposed to be stubborn as all hell, and carry himself with pride. Grimmjow didn't like it one bit, seeing the man he knew change into something he wasn't right before his eyes. He might still be pretty new at this whole 'emotions' thing, but Grimmjow wasn't stupid either. Ichigo was going to crash and burn at this rate, and Grimmjow did not want to see that happen.

The empty feeling in his stomach was sharply at odds with the way his Hollow hole clenched uncomfortably as it shrunk a little more.

He roughly grabbed Ichigo by the sides of his arms and jerked him upright. "Alright, that's enough, Kurosaki!" Grimmjow barked out sternly, digging his fingers into the teen's biceps. Ichigo's eyes were wide with shock at the sudden aggression, and it made him look more alive than he had in days.

Setting his jaw, Ichigo frowned at him somewhat angrily. "Fine. If you don't want to hear it-"

"Not that, you idiot!" Grimmjow gave him another shake for good measure. "I meant you going to see that fucking corpse! Have you even looked in a mirror lately? You're killing yourself!"

A myriad of different emotions passed over the teen's face in quick succession: confusion, at _Grimmjow_ of all people showing concern for his well-being; fear, either from realizing that Grimmjow was right and that he _was_ slowly killing himself through constant exposure to that demon, or from the worry that he might fail at preventing its resurrection; but in typical Kurosaki fashion, he circled right back around to - and settled on - anger.

"Then what the hell are you proposing I do?" Ichigo bit out from between clenched teeth. "Just give up? Do nothing and watch that _thing_ put itself back together and destroy everything I care about?"

"No! Shut up!" he snapped when Grimmjow opened his mouth to reply. "I've spent enough time in that thing's head to know how it thinks. You think it's going to stop at the Seireitei?" Ichigo let out a strange, high-pitched little laugh that had the hairs on Grimmjow's neck rising.

"It just happens to like the taste of Soul Reapers best, which is why it's going after them first," Ichigo bit out in a far darker, heavier tone. "But just the Soul Reapers aren't going to be enough for that thing. It will raze Rukongai next, before moving on to the human world once it's done with that."

By now, Grimmjow had to make a conscious effort not to flinch or look away from the intensity of the teen's gaze.

"And do you know what it's gonna do then?" His voice had lowered to a whisper, and Grimmjow became acutely aware of his own heartbeat in the sudden quiet. "It's going to turn around and devour its own armies, before hunting down anything and everything that might have managed to survive until then. It won't stop _until there's nothing left_ _to destroy_ _."_

A heavy silence fell. Grimmjow still had his hands on Ichigo's arms, but only because he had forgotten he had put them there in the first place.

"So." Ichigo had reverted to what appeared to be a state of perfect calm. "Still think I should give up?"

Grimmjow absently felt his hands sliding down Ichigo's arms as he finally averted his eyes. That tired resignation in Kurosaki's eyes was painful to look at.

What he was about to say next would probably hurt even more though. Grimmjow swallowed heavily.

"And you sacrificing yourself... will that stop him?"

The calm facade cracked.

Ichigo opened his mouth to answer, shut it again and licked his lips, then tried again. "I- I'm getting better at... If I could just shut him out for a little while and _concentrate_ , I could-"

Ichigo was stammering and he knew it. What he didn't know was that he had also subconsciously started shaking, just a little, and that Grimmjow immediately picked up on that since he was still touching him.

"That's a big 'if' there, Kurosaki," Grimmjow pointed out. His tone was as close to gentle as it had ever gotten, yet every word seemed to hit Ichigo like a physical blow. "Though I guess what it all comes down to is... do you think you can break that thing before _it_ breaks _you?"_

Ichigo looked away, trying to hide the grimace that was taking over his features.

That was answer enough.

"Then I think you already know what you should do."

There was no immediate, angry outburst, as Grimmjow had half expected. No heroic and utterly pointless spiel about self-sacrifice either, which he could only be grateful for.

Grimmjow watched as every muscle in Ichigo's body steadily drew tighter until his teeth were bared and grinding together, and his hands were balled into fists, clenched so hard they were shaking.

"Kurosaki."

Ichigo let out an angry, involuntary sound that was somewhere between a sob and a snarl.

"Ichigo," Grimmjow tried again, reaching up to squeeze a trembling shoulder. "You did good."

Another choked sob forced its way out. Ichigo's hands slowly unclenched, and the teen leaned forward to bury his face in them. His fingers dug harshly into his skin as his shaking intensified.

"You did good," Grimmjow repeated softly, and meant it.

* * *

 Oddly enough, there was no pain.

Gomorrah was not exactly in a sound state of mind at the moment, but he was fairly certain that the sensation of a nest of vipers slithering around inside his skull should at the very least warrant a headache. Instead, all he felt was an odd pressure in his head, along with a vague sense of discomfort as he registered sensations that should definitely not be happening in or near his brain, or anywhere in his body for that matter.

The fact that he couldn't bring himself to care all that much was probably another hint that something wasn't right.

" _Very_ good," a woman's voice cut through the fog in his mind, speaking in a tone one might use to encourage a child. "I think that's enough for today."

The metaphysical serpents abruptly withdrew, slipping out through his eye sockets, and left his brain pan feeling oddly empty.

Then Gomorrah was gone, retreating to whatever corner of his violated mind Lilith had forcibly carved out for him, and Starrk was thrown back into the drivers seat.

 _That_ was when the pain hit.

Starrk fell forward, ending up as a quivering heap of misery at Lilith's feet. He screamed, or at least tried to, as his midriff spasmed uncontrollably and bile made its way up his throat.

"Honestly," Lilith sneered in disdain as she looked down on him, "Had I known you would make such a mess after every session, I wouldn't have bothered."

Starrk made an unintelligible sound at that as he continued trying to scream, puke, sob and snarl at the witch all at once.

Slowly but surely, he got his body back under control. His hand slipped as he tried to lift himself up from the puddle of bodily fluids he was now lying in, making him lose his precarious balance and bang his head against the smooth, but oh so filthy stone floor. On his second attempt, he succeeded in getting up on his hands and knees at least, and wiped at his mouth and noise, removing both the puke and bloody snot covering his face. There were other, more embarrassing fluids dirtying him, but those he couldn't do much about for the moment.

"Then why did you?" he grit out hatefully once he could speak again. "You turned all the others into mindless puppets. What makes me so special?"

The corner of Lilith's monstrous mouth curved upward. She usually didn't bother wearing her veil when it was just the two of them. She did however maintain the coat of false skin over her mask, making her appear half-beauty, half-Eldritch abomination. "Because you possess something they don't," she answered coyly – and how such a nice voice could come from that horrible maw Starrk would never understand – as she reached up toward the crown resting on her head.

The Relic- the Hypnocrown, as Starrk had come to think of it – lost its eerie red glow as soon at it was lifted from her head. The rose red floral patterns on it dulled to solid black, and shrank back to thin, twisting dark veins running across the pale white surface. The crown itself grew more compact as well, going from an oddly beautiful yet at the same time grotesque tiara to an oddly-shaped chunk of bone with ragged edges.

She hid the Relic within the folds of her long, flowing robes, then looked at Starrk once more, speaking just a single word: "Power."

Starrk's face drew tight. On one hand, she meant what she said, but on the other he knew she was taking a jab at his current position. He sure as hell didn't feel very powerful with vomit dripping down his chin and urine soaking the front of his pants.

They continued their stare-off for a beat, during which Lilith showed a hint of amusement at his angry expression, and then she turned away and made for the door, reapplying her veil as she went.

"That's not it."

She halted her steps, turned around slowly, and waited for him to elaborate.

"If my power was all you wanted, you wouldn't have to do all this." He carefully made to stand upright, ignoring the way his knees shook as he did so. "I know full well what that damned crown of yours is capable of. You could have simply implanted a compulsion to obey your every order directly into my head and had me bent to your will in under five minutes, like you did with Mosqueda."

He steadied himself against the wall as he took a single, staggering step towards the woman who had claimed the dubious honor of being the first and only person to truly earn Starrk's hatred.

"So why then," he continued with a grimace, "would you go through all the trouble of implanting a fully functional, second personality? If you just wanted another soldier for your army, you have easier ways of doing it."

The sound of soft, sultry laughter rang through the room.

"You think I would go through all this trouble for a mere soldier?" The very notion seemed amusing to Lilith. "Come now, Starrk. You vastly undervalue your own importance. Did you truly think I plucked you from the rubble in that false town, right from under the noses of the Gotei 13 and your fellow Arrancar nonetheless, just so I could make another foot soldier?" She shook her head, her ebony hair swaying with the motion.

"I knew you were special the very moment I laid eyes on you. That only became more apparent as I worked to salvage what was left of you. It was a shame that I couldn't save _all_ of your other half, but what I did manage to retrieve was enough to work with," she explained almost wistfully, and another spike of fury lanced through Starrk's very being at how casually the witch spoke of twisting what remained of Lilinette to suit her needs.

"No, my dear," she went on, resuming her march out of his now-private cell. "I have far grander designs for you." A section of solid wall slid away with a heavy rumble, creating an exit from Starrk's lodgings. Lilith passed through it and turned to look at him as the wall slid back into place. "Very soon, our lord will return," she explained, "And we, his faithful servants, will be there to guide and support him. Do you know why I tell you this, Starrk?"

Starrk couldn't see her mouth anymore now that it was once again hidden behind her veil, but the way the corners of her eyes crinkled in amusement told him she was smiling.

"I tell you this, Starrk, and you as well, Gomorrah, because..."

A hint of Lilith's true power leaked through as her eyes glowed a dark red, and her immense Reiatsu washed over Starrk.

The Harlot Queen spoke: " _There must always be five."_

The wall slid shut, leaving Starrk in total darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So. Been a while, huh? At this rate, I may finish the story by 2030. Fingers crossed!
> 
> Seriously though, my apologies for yet another lengthy wait in between chapters. Shit has happened, is still happening, and will, for the foreseeable future, continue to happen.
> 
> Here's the good news: like last time it took me this long to update, I finished writing three chapters in one go, which means you can all expect at least two more guaranteed updates at reasonable intervals. I already told some of you that I really wanted to finish writing up to chapter 20 before updating, since that was where all the action would happen, but as usual things didn't go entirely as planned.
> 
> Chapter 20 is finished, yes. However, the lead-up to the big battle I was planning ended up more expansive than originally planned, so the battle itself got moved to chapter 22. I felt it better to split up what was otherwise going to be an absolutely monstrous chapter into three separate ones, which means easier-to-digest chapters, more frequent updates, and (hopefully) happier readers.
> 
> Anyway, please do let me know what you thought of the chapter. Personally I'm happy about some parts, less so about others, but I am in no mood to redo those parts and put off updating even longer. Things got pretty emotional there at times, and I hope I did the characters justice. 
> 
> One last sidenote: I completely re-wrote the flashback scene in Chapter 10. It's drastically shorter and leaves more open to interpretation. It also doesn't make me cringe with self-hate when I read it, so I consider it an improvement.
> 
> Next update will be in two weeks, on Friday. See you then!


	20. Chapter 20

### Chapter 19: Progress Report

“So Kurosaki-san did not succeed, then?” Hacchi asked calmly, his large form held aloft on a floating orange platform created with Kido. He and Orihime were currently in the basement of the Visored warehouse, progressing rather nicely in their training session.

Orihime took a moment to answer, focused as she was on directing Tsubaki to destroy all the moving targets Hacchi had created. She felt a twinge of satisfaction when every single one of the spherical Kido constructs fell apart in two identical halves once Tsubaki was through with them.

“No. He didn't,” she confirmed sadly as she watched the now-hemispheres break down into Reishi. “He did all he could though... maybe he even did too much.”

Hacchi nodded. He moved his massive hands in surprisingly delicate gestures that soon resulted in solid orange pyramids popping up all around them to replace the destroyed orbs. “It was only to be expected. Learning to use so delicate a tool as the Longinus in so short a time would have been difficult even for experienced Kido users. For a novice like Kurosaki-san, who would have an even more difficult learning process due to his immense reserves of Spirit Energy, it was nigh-impossible from the start.”

With a casual wave, the newly-created pyramids began roaming around the basement, sharp tips pointed forward, like birds of prey searching for food. “If anything, he should be commended for coming as far as he has."

“It does however mean that we will all have trying times ahead of us,” he added somberly. For a moment he seemed lost in thought, but it wasn't long before he focused on Orihime once more. “Now then. You have become quite adept at using Tsubaki. You have him executing complex yet highly efficient maneuvers, ones any future opponents you face will have a very difficult time evading.”

More sternly, which for Hacchi basically meant drawing his eyebrows about two millimeters closer together than usual, he added: “The only thing that worries me is your lack of killing intent. Although you may have no qualms about attacking my lifeless constructs, I fear that due to the way your powers work, any attack you perform without sufficient resolve backing it will fail, and may even cause Tsubaki to be damaged or destroyed again.”

Orihime glanced at the ill-mannered fairy, who was still lazily circling the two of them, then directed her gaze to the floor. Tsubaki being crushed by Yammy because of her own weak-willed attack was still a large source of shame for her.

“You must remember that in a battle, not only is your own life at stake, but those of your allies as well. If you cannot muster the will to kill, then everything we have done here over the last two weeks has been pointless.”

Finished with his lecture, Hacchi's eyebrows un-furrowed themselves, and he resumed speaking in a softer tone. “With that said, will you try attacking me once more, or shall we move on to practicing your new Souten Kisshun variant?”

Orihime looked up at the man. Every time she had tried attacking Hacchi, even if she knew his multiple barriers would be sufficient to protect him, Tsubaki had simply bounced off the very first shield without inflicting so much as a scratch. Her offensive powers required a desire to kill, or at the very least injure her target, but how could she possibly make herself feel that way toward someone as nice and gentle as Hacchi?

On the other hand, if she couldn't even attack someone during a sparring session, whilst knowing he wouldn't _really_ be hurt, how on earth was she going to hold her own in a real life-or-death situation? Was her resolve truly that weak?

 _No_. It was not.

She was _not_ going to stand on the sidelines again. She was _not_ going to become a liability. She would rather die than endanger the people she loved through her own shortcomings.

She straightened her back and tried to ignore the wave of nausea that threatened to come on at the thought of hurting her teacher. “I want to try attacking you again... if that's alright.”

Hacchi's eyes widened marginally, but he was quick to recover from his surprise. “Very well.” With a snap of his fingers, seven glowing, square blocks materialized in between him and Orihime. “Remember: even if you do not want to cause me actual harm, you will nonetheless require the intent to do so in order for your attack to have any effect. Simply have faith that my barriers will be sufficient to protect me, and give it your all.”

Orihime nodded. “Tsubaki,” she called the fairy to her side. He took on the form of an arrow made of light, and aimed himself squarely at the center of Hacchi's barrier.

She needed this to work. If she couldn't prove to herself here and now that she wasn't just a weak-willed little girl that had to rely on others to do the fighting for her, then she would have wasted her and Hacchi's time and would once again be stuck on medic duty in the battles to come.

Orihime was getting really sick of being on medic duty.

She needed to get _angry_. She might not be able to get angry at Hacchi himself, who had done nothing to deserve her ire, but she certainly had enough to get angry about at herself.

She thought back to Yammy crushing Tsubaki with his bare fist. Thought back to Ulquiorra brutalizing the Soul Reapers assigned to guard her when he came to kidnap her. To the hurt look in Ichigo's eyes when she flinched away from the sight of his Hollow Mask _while HE was_ _putting everything on the line to save HER_ _._

Oh yes, that last one did it. She ground her teeth as the self-pity she had always felt for her own powerlessness was replaced by something far more dangerous.

“Tsubaki!” The fairy shone with a light far brighter than ever before, shifting color from pale yellow to a dark orange bordering on red, like a tiny setting sun.

Orihime wasn't seeing Hacchi's barrier anymore. Instead, she saw herself, as a sad, scared little girl who bawled her eyes out yet did nothing to prevent the people around her from getting hurt.

Orihime's pupils narrowed to pinpricks as something inside of her snapped. “KOTEN ZANSHUN!” she roared, and Tsubaki shot forward like a comet. However, she wasn't finished just yet: “ _YARI_ _!”_

The miniature comet became a single, blinding streak of light that burned itself into her retinas. The deafening clap of a brutal impact had Orihime's ears ringing while the wind her attack kicked up ruffled her clothes and covered her in a fine layer of sand and dust.

Spiderweb cracks had spread throughout the barrier protecting Hacchi, originating from a fist-sized hole located precisely in its center.

The Kido construct shattered right before her eyes.

 _And so did the six_ _others_ _behind it._

Orihime's anger evaporated the exact second she saw Hacchi standing stock-still with a two meter-long spear of light hovering just inches away from his throat.

With another bright flash, the spear shrunk back down to Tsubaki's original size, after which the fairy shot straight back to Orihime's hairpin.

“I- I'm so sorry!” she stammered out, nearly tripping over herself in her rush to make sure Hacchi was unharmed.

The man swallowed, wiped some sweat from his brow, and smiled at her somewhat shakily. “That... That was- Well done. Very well done, Orihime.” He took a deep breath to calm down. “Shall we move on to the next phase of your training, then?” The floating pyramids, which had been mostly ignored up until then, once again converged on their position, aiming their sharp tips at Orihime.

Orihime nodded awkwardly, feeling her cheeks heat up while she tried not to look _too_ happy about almost killing her instructor.

* * *

 “Are you alright?!” Chad asked in a mild panic as he stomped through the white sand to where Harribel had fallen to one knee. His Brazo del Diablo reverted to a normal, human arm. It had done quite enough damage for today.

The blonde grit her teeth and let out a pained hiss. “Do not worry yourself. I'm alright.” She removed her hand from the spot on her stomach where Chad had struck her moments earlier. Exposed abdominal muscle peeked out at them, skin stripped away completely.

Chad recoiled in horror. “I... I'm sorry! I never meant to...”

As calmly as she could manage considering the pain she was in, Harribel held up a hand to silence him. “I said not to worry yourself, Sado. I knew what I was getting into when I agreed to help you with your training.”

Mila Rose was quick to come running with a healer, who applied liberal amounts of a thick, green paste that smelled vaguely of mint to the injury. Harribel let out a low hiss as the salve's restorative properties kicked in.

Chad continued staring at the ground while Harribel waited for the worst of the pain to subside. It did nothing to lessen the force of Mila Rose's Reiatsu pressing down on him as she glowered at Chad, nor did it dull the hot sting of shame.

“Looks like you finally did it,” a more cheerful voice said. Chad hesitantly looked up at Nelliel.

“Yeah...” he mumbled guiltily. “I didn’t mean for Harribel to be the one to suffer the effects, though.”

She patted his shoulder and smiled reassuringly. “You needed a powerful Hollow to test your new technique on. With Grimmjow busy with his own training, that left just me and Tia. And both of us knew what your Fullbringer abilities could do to us.”

“Quite so,” Tia affirmed. While she still looked less than comfortable, at least her face wasn't drawn into a grimace anymore. “You should be proud that you succeeded. If Lilith tries to slither back into Haven, I look forward to seeing you utilize your new technique on her. Preferably _without_ holding back,” she added with one of her almost-smiles.

She had always remained rather stoic, but after interacting with her and Nel so frequently over the past two weeks, Chad could easily pick up on the fondness in her eyes, even if the rest of her expression didn't quite show it, thanks to her large mask.

If he had a lighter skin tone, his face would probably have been dark red. He felt so ashamed. “Won't it scar though?”

“I _am_ still a Hollow, Sado-kun,” she reminded him good-naturedly. “Even if I can't regenerate instantly like Ulquiorra could, I still heal far faster and more thoroughly than a human would.”

Her almost-smile became an almost-smirk. “If you're going to insist on worrying, you should worry about yourself first.” A scraping sound sent shivers up Chad's spine as Harribel removed her sword from its scabbard. “You may have succeeded in unleashing your left arm's full potential, but progress with your _right_ is still lacking, is it not?” For once, the fierce expression her Hollow mask was permanently stuck in matched the look in her eyes. “Hunt, Tiburon.”

The Right Arm of the Giant manifested almost automatically in response to the minor tsunami that suddenly appeared in the middle of the desert.

Not wasting even a second to get out of the danger zone, Nel launched herself straight upward like a teal rocket, and remained hovering high above where she had a front row view of Chad getting swept away by the blue torrent.

Mila Rose, who had joined her up in the air, squealed with delight.

* * *

A dull, heavy thud echoed throughout the cavernous training room underneath Urahara Shoten, like rumbling thunder. Two more followed as steel blue, twin streaks of light were fired from Uryu's bow, and a pair of oddly thick metal arrows embedded themselves in a vaguely humanoid figure. The teen let out a heavy breath as he lowered his weapon, and readjusted his glasses.

Urahara walked up to him, and standing side-by-side, they admired the results of their work. “I think we've got it this time, Ishida-kun,” the man said with clear satisfaction coloring his voice. He hadn't had a full night's sleep in days, his migraine throbbed in tune with his heartbeat, and he was currently suffering from both a sugar- _and_ a caffeine crash.

He looked damned happy about it, too.

A good thirty or so meters away from the two men, stood a shoddily reconstructed Adamantium-class Gigai. It had been christened Mini-Angra Mark 2.

'Reconstructed' may have in fact been too strong a word, honestly: the dummy was cracked in several places, had odd discolorations all over it in contrast to the flawless black it had originally been, and it didn't have any limbs, consisting of just a head and torso.

After Ichigo and the Longinus had gotten through with it, there just hadn't been enough salvageable material left to restore it to its original state. Still, it made a great test subject for the Armor Piercing Arrows, or _Pantzerbrechers_ , that Urahara and Uryu had developed together.

“They're not quite the ultimate Hollow-slaying weapon my family's old texts described, but...” Uryu took another arrow from the sleek, compact quiver on his back – a new addition to his Quincy uniform - and studied it closely. “They're certainly impressive. How many do you think we'll be able to construct before the attack?”

That was the main downside to the _Pantzerbrechers:_ powerful though they were, Uryu couldn't create them from Reishi alone like his regular arrows. These were more like _Seele Schneider_ _–_ physical objects that needed to be prepared beforehand, meaning his supply in battle would be limited.

Uryu handed the arrow to Urahara, who took it by its shaft between thumb and index finger. Holding it close, the man studied the engravings it carried, through which a steady trickle of blue Quincy Reiatsu was flowing.

“Well, it is a bit of a tight deadline,” Urahara admitted. “I could do twenty if I did a rush job, but the quality would suffer, and that's not accounting for the time you would need to charge them with Quincy Reiatsu and prime them so... let's say ten?”

Uryu took a moment to consider the damage he could do with ten Armor Piercers. In the corner of his eye, he saw Mini-Angra Mk.2 crack and fall apart into a sad little heap of black rubble as the damage from the earlier shots it had incurred finally convinced it to give up on life.

“Yes, ten sounds good,” Uryu decided.

* * *

 On the other side of the basement, Grimmjow turned away from the newly formed pile of debris and refocused his attention on Ichigo.

After loading him up with enough pills to keep him asleep for a full and uninterrupted eight hours yesterday, followed by Grimmjow practically force-feeding the teen an entire day's worth of food at breakfast, his skin had regained a more healthy-looking color, and he'd recovered enough energy for them to pick up their training from where they left off.

Currently, the teen looked like something one might see in a _particularly_ freaky LSD-fueled nightmare.

Steam poured out of Ichigo’s demonic maw as his shoulders heaved with the effort of maintaining his Hollow form while simultaneously clamping down on the near-mindless destructive instincts that came with it.

His hair was incredibly shaggy- clearly longer than was customary for Ichigo, and oddly uneven to boot. Some hairs were much longer than others, as if select groups of hair follicles had been more active than others.

A large Hollow Hole adorned the center of his chest, its edge uneven and encrusted with spikes of the hardened white fluid Grimmjow had come to associate with High-Speed Regeneration after seeing Takahashi and Ichigo, to a lesser extent, using the ability.

The white goop had covered his entire torso, front and back, and hardened into something resembling armor. For the first time, Ichigo had successfully covered his arms with it as well, and large, wicked-looking claws now adorned his hands.

Right around the base of his neck however, the white carapace abruptly lost all definition, ending in an oddly shapeless collar, above which a thin strip of bone white flesh peeked out that quickly transitioned back to regular tanned skin. There was a similar transition zone around his hips, leaving only his legs completely free of any Hollow-based alterations.

And if the large, weird-looking bulge poking at the back of his Hakama was any indication, Ichigo was also attempting – and _failing_ – to grow a tail.

It probably would have been comical if the claws, spikes, jagged teeth and glowing yellow eyes weren't so utterly terrifying.

Ordinarily, Grimmjow likely _would_ have found it amusing in spite of all that – and properly made fun of Ichigo for it – however unfortunately for him he was currently fighting a partially-Hollowfied, Shikai-wielding Substitute Soul Reaper, while he had purposefully handicapped himself by preventing his own Mask Fragment from manifesting, effectively halving his own power.

Oh, he had good reason for doing it: his second Zanpakuto Spirit – his Shinigami aspect – was on the cusp of manifesting itself, and exerting himself to his limits while his Hollow powers were sealed would likely prove to be the final push he needed to set free that latent power.

That didn't make it any less painful when Ichigo's claws, sword or Cero blasts inflicted further punishment upon his already battered body.

Now that the distraction caused by the Quincy and the shopkeeper was over, the pair got ready to resume their spar. They didn't announce this verbally in any way; Ichigo was unable to speak since that would break his concentration and potentially cause him to lose control, while Grimmjow was a lot calmer and more calculating while actively suppressing his Hollow instincts, and thus felt less inclined to start talking trash or begin laughing maniacally in the middle of a fight.

That wasn't to say the urge was completely _gone_ , but it was definitely of lower priority.

_Progress._

As such, the pair launched themselves at each other without so much as a ‘by your leave’, with Grimmjow just barely managing to duck under a wide swing of Ichigo's oversized cleaver. He responded to the attempted bisection by quickly slicing open Ichigo’s unprotected right thigh with his sword.

Grimmjow didn't waste any time gloating when he heard the distorted, pained screech, and instead got the hell out of the way before the retaliatory Cero blast could reapply the burn scar on his chest Orihime had removed weeks ago.

In the few seconds it had taken him to dodge, the wound on Ichigo's leg closed up, and a renewed flood of white goop began trickling down the young Visored's leg, visible through the new rip in his pant leg.

Right before Grimmjow's eyes, the liquid hardened into a protective layer, and yet another weak point was taken away, just like that.

He bit back a curse. On one hand, he should probably be happy that Ichigo was making such rapid strides in mastering his Resurreccion. On the other, the wider the gap between their current power levels got, the more annoyed Grimmjow was becoming with the whole situation.

He knew that he had no other option but to bite the bullet however. Pantera had made it abundantly clear that in order to access the full potential of his Shinigami half, patience and discipline were absolute requirements, no short-cuts allowed.

As such, rather than bitch about the unfairness of it all, Grimmjow decided to man the fuck up and hit Kurosaki with everything he had. He charged forward, his sword a constant blur as Grimmjow took advantage of every tiny little opening Ichigo gave him – and there were a lot, due to the mental strain Ichigo was under, coupled with the fact that a much larger sword like Ichigo's obviously wasn't made for speed or precision.

The high-paced exchange continued for several minutes, and soon enough Ichigo's entire body was littered with nicks and cuts, while Grimmjow himself had earned two new burns from Ceros and a particularly nasty gash on his left bicep.

The teen's pale carapace had spread out even further, and now even the nails of his feet were long, pointy and dangerous. There weren't many areas left that Grimmjow could target. If he hadn't handicapped himself so severely, he likely would have been able to break through the armor with a strong enough attack, but that would defeat the entire point of doing this in the first place.

The sound of fabric ripping briefly interrupted Grimmjow's frantic strategizing. Ichigo also froze up, and slowly turned his head to look at his backside, where a massive, lizard-like tail was rapidly extending from his rear end and further tearing apart what little remained of his Soul Reaper uniform.

Grimmjow hadn't thought it possible to look embarrassed and bashful when you were a nearly six foot tall, hulking monstrosity, but Ichigo nonetheless managed to pull it off.

A teasing grin was the only reaction Grimmjow allowed himself however. He had to remain focused, otherwise Ichigo's next attack could easily be the one to take Grimmjow down.

And he was _so close._ He could _feel_ the power just waiting to be unleashed, straining against whatever confines were still holding it back even now.

His sword felt hot and tingly in his hand, like he was holding onto a live wire. Grimmjow was also pretty sure that he wasn't imagining the faint, silver glow the blade had begun to emit as their fight dragged on.

Ichigo eventually snapped out of his stupor and took one menacing step forward, his newly-sprouted tail lashing out absently and reducing a nearby rock to pebbles.

An image of the mercurial cocoon in Grimmjow's Inner World flashed before his minds eye.

“Grimmjow”

The voice came from within himself. It was a low, heavy rumbling sound that made even Pantera's voice sound almost high-pitched by comparison.

“The time has come, my king.”

This time Grimmjow was positive he hadn't imagined the voice; the heavy bass tone had his very bones vibrating in resonance.

“My name is ▅▅▅▅▅▅”

“Wait, w _hat_?” Grimmjow's head swiveled around to stare wide-eyed at the sword in his hand. After all that build-up, the most important part came out as incomprehensible garble? Grimmjow called bullshit.

He didn't get much time to be outraged and dwell on the unfairness of it all however, as Ichigo just then managed to close the distance between them and nearly bashed Grimmjow's skull in when he slammed the flat of that massive cleaver right into the right side of his head.

For a few moments Grimmjow knew nothing but darkness. Then he regained some sensation in his body as well as the ability to see and think, and made several realizations in short order.

One: he was lying sprawled out on the sandy ground with a steady flow of blood leaking out of his head, while a hollowfied Ichigo just stood there and watched.

Two: His head felt like an elephant had accidentally stood on it.

Three: The fact that he still even _had_ a head suggested that Ichigo was at least somewhat in control of himself and hadn't surrendered to his Hollow Instincts.

And four: _He was going to fucking KILL that brat._

With a furious, pained groan Grimmjow got back on his feet, snapping up his sword from where it had gotten lodged in the ground as he stomped over to Ichigo's position. His Reiatsu manifested as a visible blue haze around his body, biting and snapping at the very air around him and creating a decently-sized cyclone with Grimmjow at its center. Grimmjow didn't see how the teal pigmentation around his eyes returned, but he did feel a wispy haze of dark Reiatsu brush against his cheek, itching to solidify into a Mask Fragment.

The silver glow around his sword faded away, unnoticed.

Meanwhile, Ichigo just stood there and impassively watched the murderous Arrancar approach.

Grimmjow took several determined strides forward, but slowed down with every step he took. Eventually he stood completely still, just out of striking range of Ichigo. The teen simply continued to stare at him with those glowing, yellow eyes, infuriatingly calm.

Grimmjow's heavy breathing slowed down, even as the steady _drip-drip_ of his blood leaking onto the ground carried on unabated. The cyclone powered by Grimmjow's roiling Reiatsu had Ichigo's long, shaggy hair wildly whipping about in the strong winds, even as he was pretty much being sandblasted by whatever particles had gotten caught up in the flow.

The stare-off continued. Ichigo tilted his head, as if asking a silent question.

Grimmjow glared at him in response, then let out a long, irritated sigh. “Tch. Fine.” The wind died down. “We'll do this _properly_ then,” Grimmjow grumbled petulantly. The black haze clinging to his cheek dissipated while the teal markings around his eyes faded.

“But I am done with this crap, Kurosaki,” he warned even as he raised his blade and prepared to strike. “No more pussyfooting around. If we're doing this, we're doing it right the fuck _now._ So give me all you've got.”

Those eerie, expressionless eyes locked on to him as Ichigo considered his words. Then, very slowly, the massive white beast nodded. Much faster, he crouched, launched himself backwards to create some distance, and began emitting positively obscene amounts of Reiatsu.

Grimmjow felt the flood of energy wash over him, almost overwhelming him now that the Hollow half of his powers was once again firmly suppressed. His mouth curled into a cocky smirk. “Now that's more like it,” he muttered.

“Hey, Spirit.” Grimmjow addressed his sword, which was steadily regaining its silver luster, “If you're planning on making yourself useful, now's the time.” Grimmjow's eyes landed on Ichigo again.

Enveloped by a thick red haze of Reiatsu, Ichigo let out a thunderous roar that had the massive training room shaking on its very foundations. The uneven ridge of solidified Hollow goop around his neck became liquid once more, contracted, and layered itself firmly over his skin, covering up the final weak spot Ichigo had. The lizard-like tail whipped around madly, leaving large gouges in the ground with every strike.

Spikes emerged from the top of his shoulders, contrasting sharply with how the uneven edge of his Hollow Hole smoothed out and became perfectly round. He looked about as Hollow-like as he was ever gonna get.

“'Cause if not,” Grimmjow continued, feeling with every fiber of his being the sheer _power_ Ichigo now held, “We might not be getting a second chance.”

It remained silent in his head for some tense moments, but the Spirit did not make Grimmjow wait long for a reply.

“You did not give in to rage.” The heavy voice echoed. “Even after such a provocation, you managed to reign in your fury, and keep the base instincts of a Hollow at bay.”

The spirit paused to let his words sink in.

“You are ready.”

The silver glow intensified. That sealed power source Grimmjow had come to feel so clearly over the course of their spar spilled free of its confines.

“Raise your blade, my King.”

Grimmjow did so, and a flood of energy that felt distinctly _not_ Hollow-like poured forth from the very core of his being.

“Nothing shall ever halt it again. There is naught we cannot cut.”

A tidal wave of black erupted from Ichigo's sword, converging into a swirling mass of darkness that blotted out the artificial sky. A distorted whisper reached Grimmjow ears over the roar of two massive powers clashing. _“G_ _ **et**_ _Su_ _ **Ga**_ _...”_

“Now call upon me.”

Ichigo charged forward, cracking the ground under his feet and leaving a trail of inky blackness behind him as he approached.

“My name is...”

Zangetsu's edge came right at him, and if _it_ didn't shred him to pieces, the black torrent that followed it surely would. _**“-TE**_ _ns_ _ **H**_ _O_ _ **u**_ _ **!”**_

Grimmjow laughed like a madman staring death in the face.

“ _Rend, BYAKKO!”_ he roared at the top of his lungs, seeing his sword shift like mercury in the final moments before impact.

Then their blades clashed, and the world exploded into blue, red and black.

* * *

“Kurosaki-san?” Urahara asked hesitantly as he and Uryu cautiously approached the scene of the battle. Urahara was gripping his cane a little tighter than usual, while Uryu had his bow materialized and seemed to be having trouble keeping himself from pointing it at Ichigo's back.

After the teen's last encounter with Ichigo in his Hollow form, who could blame him?

Ichigo didn't respond. Instead, the Hollowfied Shinigami slowly lumbered over to where Grimmjow had fallen.

The man lay on the ground, spread-eagle, half-naked and bleeding from several wounds with his entire torso plus arms looking like they had been held against a cheese grater. Black Reiatsu still oozed out from several of said wounds.

Ichigo's front side was in a similar state, from when his own Getsuga had been partially deflected back at him, but since he was covered from head to toe in armor, his actual injuries were far less severe, and already healing thanks to his regenerative abilities.

Grimmjow on the other hand had no such protection, and had taken the full brunt of the attack. His injuries weren't fatal, but undoubtedly required urgent care. If it weren't for his chest steadily rising and falling, one might have thought he was dead. There was no doubt that Orihime's abilities would be needed later on to prevent any scars from forming. Still...

“ **Well... done... Grimm,”** Ichigo spoke with some effort. **“You... did it.”**

The Arrancar managed to open one trembling eyelid just a crack, and the corner of his mouth turned upward. “Yeah,” he croaked out, looking far too pleased with himself for a man so heavily injured. “I'd say I did.”

One of Ichigo's clawed hands reached up toward his own face. The sharpened nails dug into his mask and, after applying a fair bit of pressure, shattered it into a dozen pieces, revealing Ichigo's smiling face.

Grimmjow squeezed his eye shut again when the armor covering Ichigo's body cracked in several places and came apart entirely with one last burst of heat, steam, and pure Reiatsu.

Uryu and Urahara visibly relaxed once Ichigo returned to human form.

Grimmjow on the other hand started snickering (which was painful but worth it) when he saw Ichigo's stretched and ripped Hakama sliding dangerously low down his hips. The teen was just fast enough to grab onto the hem of his pants and pull them back up before anything important saw the light of day.

“It seems you taking the day off was worth it, Kurosaki-san,” Urahara piped up. The man wisely chose not to comment on Ichigo's wardrobe malfunction, for fear of a very likely – and likely painful – reprisal. “You mastering your Resurrección, and Grimmjow activating his Shikai... if we decide to move forward with the plan, those abilities will be a great help.”

“I haven't mastered it,” Ichigo was quick to correct the man, “This is just a first step.” He looked at his open palm, which paled drastically when Ichigo reinforced it with Hierro with nothing more than a thought. “An important first step,” he continued, meeting his mentor's eyes. “Even if it's not complete yet, I can use this. But enough about that, Grimm needs help first,” the teen urgently reminded them. He dropped to one knee beside the injured Arrancar and assessed his injuries more closely. “I can't fix this with just a First Aid kit. Could one of you..?”

Uryu's eyebrows rose above the rim of his glasses in apparent indignation. “You want me to use the medical techniques my father taught me to treat a _Hollow?_ Ryuuken would have a conniption if he ever found out.”

Having said that, Uryu immediately lowered himself to the ground on Grimmjow's other side and got to work without any further prompting. He _may_ have been smirking, but Ichigo wasn't about to go pointing it out.

Grimmjow hissed as Uryu went about closing up the worst of his wounds, in doing so proving that he was every bit as skilled with a suture needle as with the regular kind.

“Indulge my curiosity if you would, Kurosaki-san,” Urahara mumbled as he squatted down next to Ichigo and similarly got to work on Grimmjow's injuries, hands enveloped by a haze of green light. “It all happened so fast, I hardly saw a thing. What exactly _was_ Grimmjow's Shikai? I'm assuming it did that _?_ ” he inquired, looking over to five separate slabs of stone that had once been a single, sturdy rock the size of a garden shed. The cut surfaces were all perfectly smooth.

The corner of Ichigo's mouth curved upward. “No,” he answered, voice laden with something close to pride and maybe a little awe, “that was just the air pressure _.”_ He lifted Zangetsu and willed the cloth around it to unwrap once more. Both Urahara and Uryu had to pick their jaws up from the ground at what they saw underneath.

“Grimm's Shikai did _this.”_

Nothing had managed to so much as _scratch_ Zangetsu ever since Ichigo's fight with Kenpachi. Now however, four identical grooves marred the near-indestructible blade, coming awfully close to cutting it to pieces entirely.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My apologies if there any remaining errors in this chapter. I still have nine hours of video to go through today for my upcoming exam, so I haven't the time to edit it as thoroughly as usual.
> 
> Well, this chapter basically ended up being one big preview of everyone's new abilities. It was originally supposed to cover everything leading up to the big battle that's coming up, but I ended it here since it's already 5k+ words. Even so, the skills they've displayed here are just the tip of the iceberg; Orihime especially has much more to show off. Her first taste of genuine combat is going to be... memorable, to say the least. Hehehe...
> 
> I got some great reactions to the previous chapter, thank you all so much for your comments! This story managed to pass the 300 kudos mark too, which had me doing a very embarrassing celebratory dance in the privacy of my own room. 
> 
> Just two more chapters to go before everything goes to hell in a handbasket. I am very much looking forward to it, and I hope you all are too. Next update will be in two weeks again, see you then!


	21. Chapter 21

### Chapter 20: The Mad Scientist Gambit

Christmas dinner with his family had been a somewhat more subdued affair than usual, what with the looming threat of Angra Mainyu hanging over their heads.

Well, as subdued as a Kurosaki family Christmas could possibly get. Just because the literal incarnation of evil could wake up at any moment was no reason for Isshin to start behaving like a sensible adult after all.

Nonetheless, Ichigo got to eat a veritable feast prepared by Yuzu, spent some quality time with both his sisters, even had a brief father-son moment with Isshin when he managed to reign himself in for like two minutes, and got in a full night of uninterrupted sleep at home.

Ichigo was in the best condition he could possibly get with just two nights of proper rest after weeks of emotional and physical exhaustion, and it showed as he descended the Repentance Tower's spiraling steps with determined strides and head held high, decidedly _not_ looking like a total wreck in contrast to the last few times he had been there.

Captain Kyoraku led the way as usual, with Urahara following along behind Ichigo. _Un_ like usual however, Grimmjow and Nelliel were following the trio down to Angra's chamber as well.

Nelliel was here to bear witness to what would happen today and report back to Harribel, while Grimmjow came along to see Angra for himself, as well as to provide something resembling moral support for Ichigo while he was at it.

“You were right,” Grimmjow commented to Nelliel as the Hollow Lord’s pale husk came into view, “that thing does freak me the hell out _.”_

She 'hmmed' thoughtfully, offering a polite smile to Ukitake when their gazes met as the man was relieved from Longinus-duty by Ichigo. He looked even paler than the last time Nelliel had been down here, and he had barely enough strength to remain standing after such a prolonged exposure to the foul creature.

“I think it's because we're Arrancar, rather than true Hollows,” Nelliel reasoned. “It's like our Hollow instincts are telling us to submit to it, even as the Shinigami parts of us utterly reject it, basically causing our brains to short-circuit. And the more you focus on that feeling, the worse it gets,” she warned Grimmjow.

With a faintly shuddering sigh, she turned to watch Ichigo begin powering up the weapon. Her face tightened. “I just hope it doesn't try anything today.”

Once the stake's tip lit up with a blinding white-blue light and the crackling of pure energy resounded throughout the room, Ichigo raised the Longinus up high and aimed the pointy end at the large, gaping wound in the center of the mummy’s torso. A foul, pitch-black ichor was still steadily flowing out of it, courtesy of Ukitake’s efforts.

‘ _Except_ ,’ Ichigo thought with a faint sense of dread, ‘ _it doesn't really look all that mummy-like anymore..’_

Angra's stomach, which had once been so sunken in that you would have been forgiven for thinking his front was sticking directly to his back, now merely looked like it belonged to someone who hadn't eaten for three weeks, rather than someone who had died and underwent a process of desiccation for that same time period.

Its ribs no longer seemed poised to tear free of the flesh surrounding them at any moment, and some hints of muscle had returned to Angra's limbs.

Only 48 hours had passed since Ichigo last saw the creature, yet its recovery had made far greater strides in that short time than in all the previous days put together, it seemed. Nonetheless, Ichigo was determined to make one final attempt at thwarting the thing’s resurrection now that he wasn’t dead on his feet. If he still couldn’t do it even now... well, that was why they had a backup plan.

There was no time to waste. Ichigo brought the Longinus down, and as soon as the weapon's tip sunk into the body, the angry snapping of electricity became muted and was distorted to a high-pitched buzzing sound, as if a was a swarm of angry bees was trapped inside Angra Mainyu's abdomen.

Ichigo waited for the horrors to begin anew, steeling his resolve and already lining up several ways to distract himself from what he might be forced to experience should it prove necessary... but nothing came.

As Ichigo's Reiatsu – amplified to absurd heights by the Longinus – clashed with Angra's in a desperate attempt to break through to the demon's core and rip it apart, no sound other than the machine’s steady humming registered to Ichigo's senses. No visions of people being chopped to pieces or tortured in dark dungeons flashed before his mind's eye. All Ichigo saw were Angra's own, inhuman eyes, calmly staring back at him.

Ichigo frowned. This wasn’t what he’d expected. What could the damned thing possibly be playing at?

“ _ **I assure you: I have no ulterior motives.”**_

Ichigo _just_ managed to stop himself from abandoning the Longinus and getting the hell away from Angra, but it was a close thing. As it was, the people observing all made to draw their weapons in response to the surprised jerking motion Ichigo had made. They held off after a pacifying gesture from him, though Grimmjow continued to leer at Angra suspiciously.

“ _You read minds now?”_ Ichigo questioned non-verbally, because A: if Angra responded, that would prove him right, and B: he didn't think the others would react well if they heard him having a conversation with the avatar of chaos and destruction.

“ _ **A rather crude description, but not altogether incorrect. Put in simple terms, the close interaction between our Spiritual Pressures allows me to interpret your surface thoughts, as well as transmit my own.”**_

Ichigo had always considered Ulquiorra the epitome of 'emotionless bastard'. Even in the midst of battle his voice had held all the passion of someone reading lines out of a dictionary.

By comparison, listening to Angra was like being read to from a telephone book.

It couldn't even be called a conversation. It was more like raw information in the form of words being dumped directly into his brain. Even though Ichigo could swear that he actually _heard_ the things Angra was saying, there was no voice he could link to the words being spoken.

At the very least, Ichigo's foremost worry, namely that Angra could pick at his brain as it (He? _They_?) pleased and extract whatever information it wanted was put to rest.

“ _Why change tactics now?”_ Ichigo questioned, _“You seemed pretty set on driving me insane with those visions before.”_

“ _ **A wasted effort at this point. All signs indicate that this will be your final attempt to fracture my consciousness and force me to slumber. I cannot break your spirit in so little time, and so I shall not try.**_

“ _ **Furthermore, by showing that you cannot overcome me, even with nothing to hinder you from utilizing that accursed weapon to the best of your abilities, I believe I will deal greater psychological damage than by continuing to show you more of my memories.”**_

Ichigo managed to stay remarkably calm after being taunted that openly. The Longinus continued humming loudly, the sound occasionally shifting in pitch as Ichigo adjusted the output in response to Angra's fluctuating Reiatsu.

As much as he didn’t want to admit it, he really wasn’t making any progress whatsoever.

He inhaled slowly, deeply, and let it all wash over him. Angra was, unfortunately, right: he couldn't win. At least, not here and now. He had already known that. Losing the battle however, did not mean losing the war.

“Urahara. Kyoraku-san.” Both men perked up, shoulders tense. “Ask him to come in. Please,” he tacked on as an afterthought.

Kyroaku's expression hardened as his fears were realized, but he wasted no time before signing to one of the men on guard, who saluted and hurried back up the stairs.

“ _ **Oh? What is this? A last, desperate gambit to destroy me?”**_

“ _You'll find out in a minute,”_ Ichigo thought, refocusing his attention on the demon's face and trying not to lose himself in the affront to the laws of physics that was its eyes. _“Before that though, I want some answers.”_ His grip on the Longinus tightened as he pushed himself and the machine to their limits. With a gurgling sound, more pitch black sludge welled up from the massive wound in Angra's stomach and pooled out onto the floor. _“Just what the Hell are you, really?”_

He glared down at the creature at his feet, scowl out in full force. _“Hollow Lord my ass. I KNOW Hollows. I've fought_ _both_ _with_ _and_ _against_ _them,_ _befriended some and killed others.._ _._ _Hell, p_ _art of me_ _even_ _is_ _Hollow_ _._

“ _Yet no Hollow I've ever met_ _has_ _made me feel_ _so disgusted_ _just by being near them. None of them were so corrupted that I could_ _a_ _c_ _tually_ hear _the souls inside of them_ _crying out_ _in pai_ _n_ _. But you... you're not just a corrupted spirit. It's more like you_ _ARE what’s corrupting them._ _”_

There was no immediate response to Ichigo's mental diatribe. Then, slowly, a feeling of utter revulsion welled up in Ichigo's stomach - like he’d drank curdled milk - as a visceral response to whatever sentiment Angra was transmitting through the pseudo-telepathy fuckery connecting them. It wasn't until he saw the sickly grey, cracked lips of Angra's gaunt face draw back to reveal a set of pitch-black teeth that Ichigo realized.

It was _laughing_ at him. What he'd said was _amusing_ to this creature.

“ _What's so damn funny?”_ Ichigo demanded, pushing down hard on the stake to drive it just that little bit farther into the demon's guts. It was rather frustrating to see how little that bothered it.

“ _ **Forgive me. You were making an argument based on nothing but your own emotions – I was not expecting you to get so close to the truth. It was... pleasantly surprising.”**_ The sick feeling caused by Angra's amusement faded, but the grin remained frozen on its skeletal visage, like it had simply forgotten to return to a more neutral expression.

“ _ **Do you know how a Hollow comes to be, Kurosaki Ichigo? The very moment a Soul is crushed under the weight of its own emotions, be it through hatred, sorrow or despair, the heart gives out, breaks down, and is reformed as a mask for the pitiful remnant shade to hide behind. All that remains to them is a terrible emptiness, and a desperate need to fill that void.**_

“ _ **To do so, these remnants prey upon others, caring not whether their target is living or dead, whole or empty like them. But no matter how many they consume, it is never enough. Eventually, the call of the hungering void within them becomes too powerful to resist, and a Great Feeding begins.”**_

He was describing the process by which a Gillian was born, Ichigo realized. So far, Angra had not made any big revelations, yet Ichigo, having a better idea than most of just how messed up a creature Angra Mainyu was, already had an inkling of where it was going with this story.

He hoped he was wrong.

“ _ **The creature born from this process is near-mindless, running purely on instinct and possessing little to no higher thought processes,”**_ Angra continued, either ignorant or uncaring of Ichigo’s rising apprehension. _“ **How could it? A haphazard union of thousands of souls, thousands of individual voices all crying out together? There is no reason to be found among such a cacophony – only madness.**_

“ _ **However, this initial state of excitement does not last long. Sooner, rather than later, one of three things will happen.”**_

Now they were getting to the point – and good thing they were. Judging from the sound of footsteps coming from the spiraling stairway, their time was almost up.

“ _ **The first and most common outcome is that the voices fall silent. Rather than continue their struggle, the souls embrace the false serenity of living as part of a Gillian. They fall into slumber, and allow instinct to take over completely. Until they are consumed by another Hollow, purified by a Shinigami, or erased for good by a Quincy, they are essentially in stasis, unthinking and isolated from the outside world.**_

“ _ **As for the second option...”**_

Knowing what was coming, Ichigo glanced at Nel and Grimmjow. Nel seemed worried and nervous, gaze darting back and forth between Ichigo and the stairway. Grimmjow on the other hand was still glaring at Angra, but looked up to meet Ichigo's gaze when he sensed the teen staring at him. His brow furrowed with what may just have been a hint of concern.

Undaunted by Ichigo's lapse of focus, Angra carried on: _**“One voice rises above all the others. It establishes its supremacy, bends the other**_ _ **s**_ _ **to its will, and assumes sole command of**_ _ **the shared vessel.**_ _ **Not satisfied with its current state, it sets out to gain more power, consuming its fellow Gillian until it grows strong enough to reclaim its individuality. These outcomes you are familiar with, correct? But then there is the final option.”**_

The footsteps had almost reached the bottom of the stairs.

“ _ **The voices clamor for more; their hunger not satisfied. The initial Feeding was not enough for them... and so they repeat the process. Can you imagine it?”**_

Ichigo didn't have to imagine it, as Angra was more than willing to force his own memory of that very event directly into his head. He tried very hard not to let the horrified awe he felt at seeing such an orgy of carnage – one on a frankly unimaginable scale – show on his face.

“ _ **Countless Gillian, many hundreds of thousands of souls in all, trapped within a single body, forced into an overflowing vessel fit to burst. And still they hunger for more. Every ravenous soul added to the chorus only increases their hunger, strengthens the pull of the void. And eventually... their mask – their very heart – succumbs to the darkness, and is lost for good.**_

“ _ **It is not a pleasant process.”**_

Finally the deranged grin on Angra's face lessened to something closer to a smile. Considering the fact said face was still rather corpse-like that didn't lessen the creepiness factor all that much.

“ _ **So you see, Kurosaki Ichigo? I am the very concept of**_ **Hollow** _, **driven to its logical conclusion.** ”_

Whatever response Ichigo might have had – _and what could he even say to that?_ – would have to wait, as at that very moment...

“My, it has certainly been a long time since I laid eyes on this magnificent specimen!”

Kurotsuchi's manic grin was something Ichigo had gotten used to by now, but it would always creep him out at least a little bit. Nemu followed dutifully several paces behind her 'father', face as blank and emotionless as usual. She was also carrying an absurdly large cloth-wrapped package on her shoulder, easily ten times larger than herself, and heavy enough to make the floor shake a little with every step she took. Nonetheless, the girl didn't appear the slightest bit winded after carrying her heavy load down the many steps.

“To think I would get the chance to experiment on you once more! Simply marvelous!” The weirdest Captain in the Gotei (and wasn't _that_ quite the achievement?) exclaimed loudly, hands a constant blur of movement as he gesticulated with abandon and swept through the room.

“And what do you think you're doing?!” He suddenly yelled at Ichigo as he approached the teen, startling him. “Turn that blasted thing off!” Mayuri commanded, poking Ichigo in the chest with his single absurdly long fingernail. “I haven't got all day!”

He turned back around, deftly sidestepping the puddle of black Ichor on the ground and completely ignoring a flustered Ichigo as he began shutting the Longinus down. Ichigo had to do his level best to not to have it backfire on him after his concentration was so rudely disturbed.

“Nemu! Begin setting up the equipment!” Kurotsuchi barked out, not even sparing the girl a glance.

“At once, Mayuri-sama.” Nemu set her cargo down, causing what felt like the entire tower to rumble ominously as it hit the ground, and got to work extracting several large, pillar-like metal structures from the bundle of cloth.

“And you!” He jabbed his finger in Urahara's direction this time, who subsequently pointed at himself as if to say 'who, me?'.

“Yes you, you blithering annoyance!” his fellow mad scientist immediately snapped at him, “make yourself useful and draw out sections 227 through 351 of the formula! Time is wasting!”

All of a sudden there was lots of motion in the crypt-like chamber as Urahara together with the Father-daughter pair got to work, Ichigo finished powering down and subsequently ripping the Longinus out of Angra's guts, and everyone else gathered at the foot of the stairs so they wouldn't get in the way.

Angra's eyes followed Ichigo as he moved away from the slightly-less-dessicated corpse. He could actually physically _feel_ the monster's gaze on him, pulling at him like some eldritch tractor beam as he moved away. When Ichigo glanced back at it, he was surprised to see the damn thing physically frowning at him. It had to be somewhat worried – or at least curious – about what they were going to do to it, and now Ichigo was no longer there to answer it.

“How bad was it?” Grimmjow asked, voice low, when Ichigo joined the group at the base of the stairway. “ _Something_ he did made you freak. And don't bother denying it – I wasn't the only one who noticed.”

With all the eyes – and ears – on him, Ichigo decided he would hold off on telling Grimmjow about the conversation until they were alone.

“I _will!”_ he hissed under his breath when Grimmjow raised an eyebrow in disbelief.

Grimmjow didn't seem entirely convinced, but nonetheless decided to let it be. “So what the hell are they doing, anyway?” he asked instead, changing the subject.

“I’m not sure, actually. They didn't tell me any specifics either,” Ichigo started, looking on as Nemu placed six pillars in a circular formation, with Angra's body in the center. Kurotsuchi and Urahara were both on their knees, drawing intricate symbols on the section of floor inside the circle as they made their way around the room. “All I know is that this is supposed to buy us some time – keep that thing from fully waking up for a while longer.”

Satisfied with that explanation, the Arrancar went back to glaring at the semi-corpse. The group remained mostly quiet as they watched Mayuri and his helpers work, only muttering softly to each other every now and then.

Once Nemu was finished setting up the pillars, she too started working on the steadily expanding network of black lines on the floor. Once the outer portion of the formula was finished, she carefully navigated her way back to one of the pillars and drew more lines to connect it to the network. She did the same with the other five, and by the time she was finished with that, Urahara and Mayuri had completed the main body of the formula. All three of them backed away and walked along the perimeter to double-check their work.

To Ichigo, it looked like a big, black spiderweb, with Angra as a particularly ugly bug at its center.

After some muttering among themselves, and making parts of the array light up faintly with feather-light, delicate touches here and there to test it, the trio deemed the result of their efforts satisfactory.

“It is done!” Mayuri proclaimed grandly spreading his arms wide and wriggling his fingers. He glanced back at the group as they stepped closer, specifically at Kyoraku. His grin was wider and more manic than Ichigo had ever seen it. “I humbly await your command, _Sotaichou-dono._ ”

The way he said Kyoraku's title sounded less than respectful, but the man didn't seem to mind the mild insubordination.

“Yes, thank you, Kurotsuchi- _taichou_.” Kyroraku took up position at the front of the group, and cleared his throat. “What we are about to do here is activate a very powerful, newly developed space-time Kido. We have, of course, tested it, to the extent that was possible, but this will be the first time it is used on Angra itself.” He gave them all a meaningful look. “I assume I do not need to remind you all to stay on guard over the next several minutes.”

“Of course,” Urahara began, sidling up to Kyoraku, “while we hope to inflict severe damage to Angra Mainyu with this new Kido, we do not expect it will be sufficient to destroy Angra permanently. We’ve tried to do just that many times before...” he gestured to the Longinus, still being held by Ichigo, “and failed every time. Even the Hollow Lord himself however, should not be entirely immune to the ravages of Time.”

In the background, the two Kurotsuchi’s knelt down at the outer edge of the sprawling Kido formula, and made the entire array glow with a soft, pale blue light when they touched it. The six pillars surrounding it began to hum, and metal spheres crackling with electricity detached from their crests and remained floating.

“We will use this array to open a one-way passage into the Dangai,” Urahara explained, pulling the brim of his hat lower. “More specifically... directly into a section of the Wresting Flow where the Kōtotsu is set to pass by.”

Ichigo’s eyes widened. “And... you don’t think that’s going to kill it? You said that just _touching_ the walls of the Dangai could kill us the first time we broke into Soul Society! That’s not even _mentioning_ what the Cleaner could do!”

“Well. Like I said, I’m not _expecting_ this to kill it... but it would certainly be nice if it did,” Urahara said, rather flippantly. He clapped his hands loudly, snapping everyone to attention. “Well then, let’s get started! Ready everyone?”

They all took up position just a few paces from the formula’s edge. Most of them had at least one hand on their sword hilts, although Grimmjow forewent decorum altogether and pulled his Zanpakuto free of its sheath. He may or may not have been eager to test his shiny new Shikai.

Ichigo smiled and shook his head almost fondly at Grimmjow’s poorly-concealed enthusiasm, and followed his example in drawing his sword. Better to be prepared, after all.

The Kido Corps members lurking in the shadows stepped closer as well, and upon seeing that everyone was as ready as they were going to get, Kyoraku nodded curtly at Kurotsuchi. “Do it.”

Energy crackled, and the sprawling network of Kido formulas lit up brilliantly. Underneath Angra’s body, power converged into a single glowing dot, which summarily widened into a tear in reality itself.

The hole steadily widened, slowly becoming big enough to swallow the Hollow Lord whole. The echoing wail that accompanied it increased in volume as it did.

Due to his previous experiences with Angra – and his experiences with life in general; seriously, his luck was _terrible_ – Ichigo was fully prepared for things to start going wrong. He didn’t even have to wait all that long.

“ **NO.”**

That single word resounded in his mind with such severity, such intensity, that Ichigo couldn’t help but startle. He remained more composed than the others though, who had no prior experience with Angra’s rather unique and invasive method of communication.

The entire tower began to quake as in spite of the Sekkiseki spikes pinning Angra down, the demon’s impossibly thick, malevolent Reiatsu began to press down on them.

With thundering cracks, the very walls of the tower itself began to crumble, massive chunks of Sekkiseki exploding outwards and raining down all around them.

The Kido Corps members proved themselves to be spectacularly useless when all of them crumpled under the demonic Reiatsu and fell to the ground, twitching erratically and some even foaming at the mouth.

Ukitake, already weak after prolonged exposure to Angra, sunk to his knees, hacking up blood.

A loud _snap_ signaled one of the five spikes breaking off, and suddenly Angra’s left hand was free. Subsequently, Angra used it to pull itself upward and away from the portal opening beneath its body, not caring that he was driving the remaining spikes farther into his body by doing so.

The Kurotsuchis were not letting themselves be deterred by the tower coming down around their ears, and stoically kept the Kido active. With the portal fully expanded, thick purple sludge from the Dangai began to well up from within and reached out to the struggling Hollow Lord. Angra continued working himself further up along the spikes to get away, but Ichigo wasn’t having any of that, and neither was Grimmjow.

Both men dashed forwards, jumping up and over the active Kido array, and prepared to push the lump of Pure-Evil-on-a-stick down into the Dangai’s Wresting Flow.

Seeing what the pair was planning to do to do, Commander Kyoraku gave them a helping hand in the form of his Bushōgoma technique, which circled around Angra and created a powerful downward air current, preventing the demon from advancing further. The final push came in the form of a dense, narrow Getsuga from Ichigo, together with a barrage of hastily-charged Bala from Grimmjow, both techniques squarely hitting their mark and forcibly pushing their target back.

Angra slid back down along the spikes, leaving a trail of black ichor behind that hissed and burned on the Sekkiseki, and slammed into the pool of purple sludge below with a faintly anticlimactic _plop._

There was nothing anticlimactic however, about the tumultuous hissing and spitting sounds Angra’s body made as it was ripped apart by the flow of Time itself.

Ichigo and Grimmjow landed a bit unsteadily on the still-trembling ground, and watched as the Hollow Lord’s body cracked and came apart at the seams. A horrible screech and a bright yellow light heralded the arrival of the Kōtotsu, and Angra’s right arm and shoulder simply disintegrated when the massive _thing_ popped into view on one side of the portal and rocketed into the demon’s side.

Angra was apparently tougher to digest than the average Dangai detritus, as the Kōtotsu actually slowed down with a horrible grinding noise as it tore its way through the body, but in a little over a minute, the last bits of Angra’s left fingers and toes nonetheless crumbled to dust and disappeared, and the Kōtotsu continued on its path, vanishing from sight once it passed through the opposite edge of the portal.

The oppressive Reiatsu faded, the tower stopped shaking, and the gateway closed back up as Mayuri and Nemu deactivated the array.

Breathing heavily, Ichigo shared a look with Grimmjow, then met the eyes of each of the others in turn to confirm everyone was alright. No one seemed to know what to say after all that.

Grimmjow blinked at the spot where Angra had disappeared. “Well,” he eventually uttered in a bit of a daze, after several aborted attempts at speaking.

“Merry fucking Christmas, Kurosaki.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Yes, I realize I’m writing about Christmas in July. No, I don’t care.
> 
> This was supposed to be just a single, tiny part of a chapter that would cover everything leading up to the next big battle. Somehow it turned into this. Clearly; I have no control over this story anymore. Send help.


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now how in the hell did _this_ chapter end up being so long?! _*Cries in Flemish*_

### Chapter 21: Before the Battle

Their deadline had been set for the year’s end.

When Ichigo and his friends had invaded Soul Society to save Rukia, their coming in close contact with the Cleaner had caused a temporal distortion that had hurled them seven days backward through time.

The Kototsu showing up right when they were crossing through the Dangai had seemed like a very unfortunate stint of bad luck at the time, but in actuality ended up being their saving grace; that extra week had given them just barely enough time to prevent Rukia’s execution.

And now, history was about to repeat itself.

When Angra Mainyu had its own run-in with the Cleaner, it hadn’t really ‘flung’ him, so much as it had ‘smeared him out’ across the timeline like the world’s most evil insect getting caught by a car’s windshield wipers.

While Ichigo's group had simply gotten very lucky, Urahara and Kurotsuchi had not deigned to leave the fate of the entire world to mere chance: through a combination of impossibly complex calculations, cutting edge technology, and forbidden Kido, they had created an array that would not only open a passage leading directly into the Dangai’s Wresting Flow, but which was also capable of directing exactly _how_ the incoming Kototsu’s temporal distortion would affect its unfortunate victim.

As a result, Angra hadn’t just been sent to the future, rather than the past, but he had been sent there in the most grueling, damaging way possible.

Had they used the method on just about anyone, or even any _thing_ else, the result would have been scattered particles of Reishi spontaneously popping into existence in random locations, over a period of several years.

Angra however, essentially being a hive mind made up of millions of corrupted souls, would at best be moderately inconvenienced by having bits of itself scattered across space-time.

Once enough of Angra made it back, the demon would simply put itself back together again, and reabsorb the wayward fragments of itself as they found their way back to the main body over time.

Seven days. That was how long it would take for the Hollow Lord to reconstruct its body. Regaining all of its powers however, was going to take _months,_ and that was the basis on which they had laid out their strategy.

Before Angra could become corporeal again, they were going to deal one massive, preemptive blow to the demon's forces, then steadily wrap things up over the next few weeks and months, theoretically never having to overextend themselves.

Of course, things never really went entirely according to plan, especially where Ichigo's group was involved, but right now this was the best course of action for them to take.

All of them had worked hard. They had pushed themselves and their abilities to new, previously unexplored heights; developed new equipment and techniques; and steeled their resolve to do what needed to be done.

They were ready.

* * *

The Seal of Izanagi looked as pristine and unblemished now as it had on the day it swallowed Head Captain Yamamoto into its dark depths.

This was not for lack of trying on the Gotei’s part – three separate incursions into Hueco Mundo with some of the most elite Shinigami available proved that much.

All three had ended in failure.

The first extraction team, led by Kurotsuchi and bolstered by additional members from the Kido Corps, had been the only one of the three to produce any real results. This was in no way due to the Squad 12 members being more skilled in combat than the two squadrons that followed it. In fact, no Division had suffered heavier losses than the Twelfth had in their attempt to reach the Seal.

The reason behind that was simple: as soon as Kurotsuchi had deemed his chances of success negligible, he had instead switched his priority from retrieving Yamamoto to gathering data. He had done this by throwing his unfortunate Division members at Kali with very little concern for their well-being or continued existence.

Lack of ethics aside, he _had_ collected valuable information. So far however, Yamamoto remained trapped.

And Kali had still not met with a worthy opponent.

Kurotsuchi had irritated her; not even deigning to face her himself, while throwing wave after wave of weaklings at her, like lambs to the slaughter.

Zaraki had briefly made her heart flutter with anticipation – she had recognized a kindred spirit in him, and had barely been able to contain her excitement. Yet he too fell all too soon, and her hopes with him.

The last challenger had not impressed her much, at first. Yet Byakuya Kuchiki had demonstrated perhaps the greatest battle prowess of all three challengers. He didn’t hide behind his army like a coward, nor did he charge in like a hapless barbarian.

If anything, he fought like her brother did.

Byakuya did not treat his soldiers like disposable pawns. Every man and woman had value to him; each was a part of the well-oiled machine that was his Squad, and none were expendable.

He did not limit himself to just his blade, and switched strategies on the fly, alternating between Zanjutsu, Hohō, Hakuda and Kido – each of the four great Shinigami combat disciplines, as easily as breathing.

He did not fight alone either, but as part of the greater whole. His entire strategy had been designed with maximum efficiency and minimum casualties in mind. He and his Lieutenant working together seamlessly in combat had been a joy for her to go up against.

Alas, even they had eventually been forced to retreat, and Kali had let them. The two of them, the red-haired lieutenant especially, had not yet reached the full height of their potential. She would not kill those who still had room to develop, and might return to challenge her once more, push her further still.

She eagerly awaited the day when a true warrior would come to set her free.

Two wet thumps distracted her from her musings.

The barest hint of a smile appeared on her skull-like visage when she registered the faint prickling sensation on her skin that always accompanied Samael’s transference magic. “Brother. It has been far too long.”

She opened her eyes, the midnight blue of her irises so dark it bordered on black, to lock gazes with Samael. For once, she had to look _up_ at him, but only because he was still floating several feet off the ground right after warping in. As he descended, she continued to lower her gaze until he touched down, and the crown of his head reached approximately to where her nose would have been, if she’d had one.

It should be mentioned at this point, that she had remained seated the whole time.

The origin of the sounds from earlier also became clear when she noted the two bloody Hollow corpses lying at her brother’s feet, staining the clear white surface of the Seal. There was a fading black mark on both their necks, proof that they had been under Lilith’s control. Her siblings must have decided these two had more value as sustenance than they did as soldiers.

“Kali,” Samael greeted, “I see the passing of centuries has not dulled your lust for battle.”

He swept his gaze across the surrounding area, taking in the countless bloodstains coloring the white sands and even parts of Las Noches’ dome red. The Seal itself however, had been spotless right up until he delivered the two corpses.

“I brought you a meal,” he announced, gesturing at the dead Adjuchas. “You will need your strength in the battle to come.”

“Oh?” She reached out with one massive hand, and grasped the closest of the two corpses around its torso, lifting it like a child would a doll. “You believe the Shinigami will try again?”

“Of that there is no doubt,” Samael stated, watching dispassionately as Kali bit off one of the dead Hollow's forearms at the elbow. “They scattered our master across time just to give themselves one last opportunity to attack, after all.”

“Let them come. Perhaps I shall find a worthy adversary at last.”

Samael would have smiled were his lips capable of moving. Having your Hollow Mask welded directly to your flesh had its inconveniences at times. “If for no one else’s sake but your own, sister, I do hope at least one among their number shall prove worthy.”

“But that is precisely what I have come to talk to you about,” Samael intoned, his serpentine green eyes glowing like radioactive waste. “There is not just the Shinigami, but some living humans to worry about as well. They seem to have come up with a plan, so naturally, I reciprocated...”

* * *

“Why the hell are you all here, again?”

Orihime just smiled beatifically in the face of Grimmjow’s moderately unhinged expression of disbelieving anger, and continued laying out her bedroll. Ichigo _would_ have been more worried about her displaying all the self-preservation instincts of a suicidal lemming, but at this point he was 90% certain that Orihime really was just playing the ditz solely in order to mess with people – and was actually very good at it – so he wisely decided to let her deal with it.

“You know why, Grimmjow-kun,” she chirped happily. “We’re starting the operation tomorrow, so it only makes sense for all of us to go over the details together one last time.”

Grimmjow’s eye twitched upon realizing he had been demoted to the _-kun_ suffix _._ He took a moment to remind himself that _no,_ murder is bad, and that he needed her to be alive for tomorrow.

But he didn’t need the other two, Grimmjow realized as he side-eyed Uryu and Chad. _Those two_ he could always rough up a bit in case he needed to let off some steam.

Probably not Chad though. He had found himself growing rather fond of the teen, in fact. Unlike certain other people, Chad at least knew how to shut the fuck up and mind his own goddamn business.

The Quincy prick on the other hand, now _he_ had better watch his ass tonight.

“That still doesn’t explain why you fuckers all felt the need to sleep in _my_ room, _”_ he said, narrowing his eyes at Uryu, who barely managed to suppress a full-body shiver.

“Because it’s the biggest one in the house, obviously,” Ichigo scoffed, and how dare he sit there and _scoff_ at him, as if he too hadn’t invited himself into Grimmjow’s room and then _never fucking left._ “It’s just for tonight, anyway,” the teen waved away his objections.

“Exactly!” a female voice cut in, and Orihime was the only girl in the room so where the hell- _Oh son of a fucking whore there’s one in his closet too_.

The closet door was jerked open and Rukia, already wearing her pajamas – Chappy the Bunny ones no less – poked her head out. “Don’t be so petty, Jaegerjaquez! If we’re going to be fighting alongside each other tomorrow, we should at least be capable of remaining civil for one night, you uncouth barbarian!”

His moderately unhinged expression became a _severely_ unhinged one.

“ _Okay_ then,” Uryu spoke up, probably sensing that his name was distressingly near the top of the list of potential targets should Grimmjow’s very limited patience run out. He dropped his own bedroll like it was a hot potato and power walked over to the door. “Me and Sado should go discuss our strategy with Yoruichi before it gets too late. Isn’t that right, Sado?” He shot Chad a meaningful, slightly pleading look.

The taller teen nodded in agreement and followed after him at a much more reasonable pace. Bravely, or stupidly perhaps, depending on your point of view, he laid a firm hand on Grimmjow’s shoulder as he passed him. “No killing anyone while we’re gone,” he intoned sternly.

Grmmjow’s expression didn’t change one bit as he continued aiming his slasher smile at Rukia, and hissed out “ _No promises,”_ from between clenched teeth.

Once the two men left the room and Rukia slid her door shut again so she could finish redecorating, Grimmjow turned to Ichigo, finding the teen watching him with amusement in his eyes. That unholy excuse for a smile was gone at least, but Grimmjow’s eyes were still wide and more than a little bloodshot. “Your friends are all insane,” he stated in a haunted tone of voice. Ichigo just smiled wider at that.

“ _What?_ What could possibly be so goddamn funny?” The Arrancar demanded, feeling the now-familiar eye-twitch coming on.

“Oh, nothing. Nothing _at all_.”

Grimmjow was going to _dropkick_ that smile off his face.

“It’s completely gone now, huh?” The teen suddenly said, pointing a finger at Grimmjow’s ever-exposed abdomen. “Your Hollow Hole.”

Grimmjow looked down, bringing a hand up to lightly trace the circle of skin, where he still couldn’t help but feel like there should have been none. “Yeah. It closed up completely right after I learned Byakko’s name.” He met Ichigo’s gaze again. “It comes back when I use Resurrección though.”

Ichigo nodded. “I figured. It’s the same for me.”

“You still haven’t learned your Release Command?”

Ichigo frowned at that. “No. Shiro won’t tell me.” He flopped back onto his futon, crossing his legs at the knees. “He just says I should already know, and then calls me an idiot. Or attacks me. It’s kind of a toss-up.”

Chuckling, Grimmjow let his gaze be drawn to the foot Ichigo was now absently bopping up and down. “How’s your foot?”

In response, Ichigo lifted the appendage and displayed the sole to Grimmjow. Orihime, now finished laying out her bed for the night, came closer to take a look as well. “It doesn’t hurt anymore, and at least it stopped _rotting,_ but it did leave a pretty nasty scar.”

And indeed, there was a large, slightly concave, white spot on the ball of his right foot, as if a good chunk of flesh had simply been gouged out.

Orihime frowned at it, apparently considering it a personal offense that there existed injuries her powers couldn’t heal. “May I?” she asked Ichigo as she gingerly reached out to the foot. Upon gaining approval, she gently fingered the scar, a look of intense concentration on her features. Ichigo tried his best not to let it show that he was rather ticklish there.

“The reason me and Captain Unohana couldn’t heal it... it was because there was a foreign Reiatsu clinging to the wound. One that neither of us could expel no matter what we tried. It was like a poison that had sunk into your flesh.” She lifted her hands to her hairpins. “But now I don’t sense it anymore.”

Ichigo saw the orange light of Orihime’s Souten Kisshun reflected in Grimmjow’s eyes as the Arrancar watched her work, face going slack as his irritation from earlier vanished in favor of wonder. Ichigo couldn’t see for himself what she was doing, but he did feel an odd tingling sensation in his foot.

The orange bubble disappeared when Orihime recalled her fairies, and there was a very satisfied smile on her face when she announced: “It worked!”

Ichigo quickly pulled his foot back and ran his hands over the sole. The skin was perfectly smooth again. “That’s amazing, Orihime.” He smiled back at her. “Thank you.”

He jumped when someone less-than-gently prodded his newly-restored foot, then calmed when he noticed it was just Rukia. She must have come out of her closet at some point while they were occupied.

“That wound must have been from some kind of Curse,” Rukia muttered as she continued poking around, her fingertips occasionally lighting up green. Unlike Orihime, she clearly didn’t feel the need to ask his permission before experimenting on him. “The injuries on Renji’s arms were very similar to yours, though the Reiatsu that clung to Renji wasn’t nearly as foul.”

“Did you ever manage to find out any more?” Orihime asked her, clearly interested in the subject. It was so far the one thing that directly prevented her own powers from working, after all.

“Not as much as I would have liked,” Rukia admitted as she abruptly let go of Ichigo’s foot, letting it flop to the floor rather painfully. She pointedly ignored Ichigo cussing her out.

“Beyond the fact that these so-called Curses are basically the upgraded version of a Hollow’s Acidic Touch, and that we have no way of removing them other than waiting for them to fade on their own, there’s very little information, even in Soul Society’s Archives,” she sighed. “At this point, Sado probably understands them better than I do.”

“Wait, what?” Ichigo interrupted, forgetting about his pained foot for the moment. “Why would Chad know about that?”

“Oh, that’s right, we never got around to telling you two, since you boys were so busy playing with your swords.”

Ichigo responded to that with exactly the kind of affronted sputtering Rukia’s statement warranted.

“You both remember the three terms Hyperion mentioned when we encountered him in Haven, right?” she continued, staunchly ignoring Ichigo’s indignation. “I’ve been doing some research, trying to find out what they mean. Sado took a special interest in Curses, probably because his own powers are fundamentally Hollow-based.”

“They only work through direct, physical contact, for the most part,” Orihime cut in. “Though a ranged attack infused with enough of the Hollow’s Reiatsu can have a diluted effect, and bodily fluids seems to work as well, like when you stepped in Angra’s, er, ' _blood_ ’,” she explained, clearly already well-informed on the matter, before Rukia took over again.

“A specialized Curse like Lilith’s Kiss however, only seems to work by her touching you directly, so _we_ ,” Rukia addressed Ichigo in particular, “should be sure to keep our distance as much as possible.”

“What about the other stuff he mentioned?” Grimmjow interrupted. “ _Acero_ and _Reishuken_?”

“ _Acero_ is pretty straightforward; it means S _teel_ , and it’s actually something you both already have,” Rukia explained, looking at Grimmjow and Ichigo in turn.

“That bony armor you both gain when you enter Resurrección; that’s what it refers to. It’s an additional layer of defense on top of a Hollow’s Hierro, which already reinforces their skin. The important part though,” she addressed Grimmjow, pinning him with a meaningful look. “Is that unlike your skin, that body armor isn’t made of living tissue. Meaning that if it gets damaged, it won’t grow back for quite a while, not even with Regenerative abilities.”

Grimmjow’s eyes lit up as he realized the implications of that statement, and drew back his lips in a bloodthirsty grin that was all teeth.

Thinking back to his last spar with a Hollowfied Ichigo, he realized that every stroke of his sword had left a clear mark on the teen’s armor, even when the skin underneath it had already healed. If that held true for all Regenerators...

“And the last one?” Ichigo asked, remembering how Hyperion had put special emphasis on it. “ _Reishuken_?”

“ _Spiritual Dominion_ ,” Rukia translated. She frowned a little as she tried to string a sentence together with what little information she had found on the ability. “The records said... something about ‘taking the very essence of your being, and forcibly impressing it on the world around you using Reiatsu as a medium.’” She worried her lower lip as she went over that sentence in her head one more time, then shrugged. “At least, that’s what I ended up making of it. The text I found in the Archives was _ancient_ , like literally a thousand years old, and barely legible.”

Grimmjow could feel Ichigo’s eyes on him. Somewhat reluctantly, he met the teen’s gaze. “It sounds a lot like Lilith’s... _allure_ ,” Ichigo began hesitantly. “And like...”

“Like how Takahashi scares the shit out of me,” Grimmjow finished for him, frowning. “You don’t have to treat me with kid gloves Kurosaki, if you have something to say, then fucking say it.”

He was getting glared at again, but Ichigo had learned to see past the empty bravado. He saw the way Grimmjow’s shoulders tensed, how he set his jaw. Turning to the two women, both of whom looked at the former Espada not with ridicule, or worse still, _pity,_ but solemn understanding, he asked: “Would you two mind giving us a minute?”

“Of course,” Rukia was quick to reply. She got to her feet, and offered a hand to help Orihime up. “Let me show you around my closet. I even brought a little window!” she proclaimed proudly, making Orihime giggle as she followed after her.

Once the two seemed invested in what sounded like a conversation that made painfully little sense, Ichigo abandoned his own futon in favor of joining Grimmjow on his. “He scares the shit out of me too, you know.”

“Don’t fucking patronize me.” The Arrancar growled.

“I’m not,” Ichigo intoned firmly, leveling a weighty stare at Grimmjow. “You can’t just make yourself _not_ be afraid. It doesn’t work like that, and this _Reishuken_ ability of his takes full advantage of that.”

Grimmjow looked down at his hands as he mulled over Ichigo’s words. Then, grinding his teeth as he practically _forced_ out the response, he asked: “...Then why was it just me who couldn’t move? Why could I only sit there and try not to piss myself, while you faced him down that time in Haven? ” Absently, he felt at the skin where his Hollow Hole had been. “ When you were discussing the plan with the shopkeeper, why did you agree to let _me_ go after Takahashi, when you’re obviously the better choice?”

“Because I’m _not_ the better choice,” Ichigo eventually responded, just before the lingering silence could become uncomfortable. “You know how he fights better than anyone. You managed to hold him off, all by yourself, for well over an hour when he first showed up. I sure as hell didn’t manage that when I fought him in Seireitei.”

They both grimaced when they thought back to their respective first encounters with the rogue Shinigami. Ichigo wasn’t about to forget how utterly powerless he’d felt with one of Takahashi’s massive, armored hands clamped around his throat, or the mind-numbing pain of lightning surging through his body.

Similarly, Grimmjow had a very vivid memory of a clawed foot brutally stomping down on his chest, and fragments of broken ribs tickling his lungs.

“Besides,” Ichigo went on, speaking more softly, “it’s important to you, isn’t it?”

Grimmjow looked up at him then, his expression so unguarded, almost _vulnerable_ even, that seeing it made Ichigo’s breath catch.

“You... you’d risk everything just for that?” Grimmjow asked in stunned disbelief. “If I can’t take him down, this entire plan of yours falls apart. If he beats me and joins forces with one of the fuckers that are controlling him, it’s gonna turn into a goddamn massacre, Kurosaki. If I fail, the woman _dies_ ,” he stressed, glancing at where Orihime was helping Rukia decorate her closet, as if he expected Ichigo to not have considered that possible outcome yet. _“_ You’d really take that chance, just because it’s _important to me?”_

“That’s just it,” Ichigo countered with a knowing smile. “You accepted Orihime’s help – which, by the way, you still have to tell me about how she pulled _that_ off. The old you never would have agreed to bring someone along as back-up. The old you wouldn’t have cared about our plan, and would have just thrown himself headlong into a fight and probably gotten killed.” That earned him another glare, but Ichigo powered through. “You asked me why his power didn’t affect me as much as it did you. Well you’re wrong; it _did_ affect me. I _was_ scared out of my mind. It’s just that I had bigger things to worry about.”

“... What bigger things?”

For the first time, Ichigo was the one who seemed uncomfortable with the conversation. He looked away, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck. Grimmjow just kept staring however, clearly expecting an answer. “Well...” Ichigo eventually started saying, once it became clear he wasn’t getting out of this without an explanation. “... You,” he eventually got out, accompanied by a sort of helpless little shrug.

The annoyed-slash-embarrassed frown Grimmjow had developed over the course of the conversation smoothed out, along with the rest of his face, when Ichigo’s admission hit home.

“Me,” Grimmjow parroted. Neither of them were sure whether that was meant to be a question or not.

“I mean, I wasn’t just going to stand there and do nothing!” Ichigo was quick to defend himself, stubbornly crossing his arms and scowling at the floor to hide his embarrassment. “If you think Orihime's the only one I’m going to worry about tomorrow, you’re wrong. I care about you too, you know. You’re just as much my friend as she is.”

Grimmjow seemed to have no good response to that. Ichigo cautiously looked back up at him, trying to see what the man’s reaction was going to be. He was expecting to either be made fun of, or for Grimmjow to vehemently deny the fact that they were friends in the first place. That was probably why he was so surprised when he saw Grimmjow’s expression tighten, and noticed hints of the man’s nervous eye-twitch coming on.

“So that’s why you were laughing,” the man grit out accusingly, and Ichigo just blinked rapidly at him, completely bewildered. “When I said your friends were all insane. _That_ was what was so damn funny!”

Ichigo felt his jaw drop. “You...” The teen slowly reared up, making himself as tall as he could without standing up, and _glared_ at the Arrancar with all his might. “I spout off all this embarrassing crap just to make _you_ feel better, and THAT’s the part you focus on?! You are such a-!”

The sound of their bickering soon distracted the girls from their renovation of the closet, and they both poked their heads out into the room to observe the arguing pair. “Hmph. _Boys,”_ Rukia huffed, shaking her head. “So immature. They can’t even talk about anything halfway serious without getting into an argument.”

Still feeling completely assured of her own moral superiority, she turned to Orihime, asking: “Could you please hand me the power-saw? I’d like to let some natural light into my closet.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Four updates in a row; a new personal best. I feel like I’m on a roll here. Since this chapter (somehow) surpassed my self-imposed 5000 word limit by quite a bit, I ended up splitting it in two, meaning that I’m now technically one-and-a-half chapters ahead.  
> Still, even after getting bisected, quite a lot ended up happening in this chapter:  
> Kali finally got her screentime, Byakuya proved that if you’re ever given the choice between joining Squad 6, 11, or 12, Squad 6 is definitely the way to go, and Grimmjow unwittingly got swept into the group dynamic, even having a bit of a moment with Ichigo until he managed to ruin it.  
> Next chapter will deal with the initial stages of the upcoming battle. Better buckle up now, because it's about to get wild!


	23. Chapter 23

### Chapter 22: Reunion

Aside from when Tessai had stormed into the room to see where all the noise was coming from - and had promptly proceeded to throw a fit upon seeing what the girls had done to the closet (and the building's structural integrity) - it had been a relatively peaceful night. When morning came, they all awoke at roughly the same time, watched as Orihime 'rejected' the results of her and Rukia's renovation attempt, and then headed to the kitchen to have breakfast. Tessai had truly gone all-out in preparing food for so many people, and once everyone was full and the operation's starting time drew near, he switched out his cooking apron for his Shinigami uniform before leading them down to the underground lab.

At the stroke of ten, Urahara opened the portal to Hueco Mundo. The group received some final good-luck wishes, both from the shopkeeper himself, but also from Shinji and Rose, who had agreed to remain on standby in the event some additional firepower would be needed, and then they were off. The trip through the Garganta was a quiet one, but that quiet was rather abruptly shattered once they arrived in Haven.

Arrancar and a small number of Shinigami alike were feverishly running to and fro, finishing up last-minute preparations for the battle to come. Harribel and Head Captain Kyoraku had brokered a temporary alliance in light of the seriousness of the threat both groups were facing, meaning that the Shinigami army would be allowed to use Haven as their base of operations for the duration of the conflict. The bulk of the Gotei's forces was already stationed near Izanagi's Seal, but several members of Squads 4 and 12 would remain within the encampment to handle logistics and treatment of serious injuries.

The Gotei had sent all the forces it could spare without risking the safety of Seireitei itself. Those forces consisted of the Captains Kuchiki, Hitsugaya and Zaraki, as well as the highest-ranking members of each of their Squads, bolstered by some additional troops in the form of field medics from Squad 4 and a team of Kido specialists who would extract Yamamoto from the Seal. Under Byakuya's command, the Shinigami would be meeting Kali - the by now much-dreaded ' _Goddess of War'_ \- in battle for hopefully the final time.

Ichigo's group would act independently of them for the most part, but Byakuya would send whatever forces were still combat-ready by the time Kali was defeated to come and assist them.

"We all know what to do," Rukia announced semi-authoritatively once they halted at a less hectic spot near the outskirts of Haven, where they wouldn't be in the way so much. She looked around the loose circle their group had formed. Even though everyone here already knew the plan pretty much front to back, they still listened intently as the petite Shinigami went over everything one final time.

"Yoruichi-san, Sado and Ishida will remain here and assist lady Harribel in keeping the camp safe for now. It probably won't be much longer until Angra Mainyu regains physical form, and when he does, he will likely emerge somewhere within the Warlords' stronghold. As soon as Urahara's scanners pick up on that spacial distortion, the three of you can begin your infiltration and destroy his new body while he's still weakened."

Smirking dangerously, Yoruichi put her hands on both teen's shoulders, and all three of them nodded affirmatively at Rukia.

They weren't sure of what kind of resistance they would face once inside the enemy's lair, so their three-man cell had been assembled with the idea that their varied skill sets would allow them to counter just about any threat. Between Yoruichi's speed, Chad's inherent durability, and the destructive power of Uryu's arrows, there was very little that could hope to stand against them. And if they ran into one of the Warlords in there, whether it was Samael, or the hypothetical fifth member Urahara had warned them about, well... all three of them were more than capable of inflicting some serious damage with their new equipment and abilities.

"The three of you have the highest chance of running into the rumored Fifth member, so be sure to call in Rose and Hirako-san for assistance should you encounter them," Rukia reminded the trio. The two Visored had been more than eager to lend their assistance. They still considered Ichigo one of their own after all, and after the whole Aizen debacle, the group felt they owed the teen a debt they didn't know how to even begin repaying. That aside, they had no intention of simply letting the Hollow Lord and its lackeys do as they pleased. Even if they weren't part of the Gotei anymore, that particular threat extended well beyond just the Seireitei.

"Me and Ichigo will meet up with Nel, and the three of us will hunt down Lilith together," Rukia continued. "All of us have been subjected to her Mind Control before, so we should be able to resist its effects now. As soon as the witch is dead, the army she's put together should break free of her control, and then this battle will be as good as won." They all suspected it probably wouldn't turn out to be quite that simple, but that didn't change the fact that killing Lilith as quickly as possible was probably their single most important objective today.

Grimmjow still didn't know what sort of new ability Kuchiki had developed, but he sure as hell hoped that those thick, leather bracelets wrapped around her wrists were for more than just decoration. He hadn't gotten a very close look at them, but there appeared to be clear white crystals set into the bracelets, directly over the pulse point on her wrists. If the frosty Reiatsu they emitted was any indication, those pretty little jewels actually contained quite a bit of power.

Neliel he wasn't worried about – as much as she pissed him off at times, that woman was strong as hell. She had been the third-ranked Espada at one point, and not without good reason. With her at his side, Kurosaki would be just fine.

And he knew the kid's own capabilities better than anyone by now, so the fact that Ichigo was a nigh-unstoppable powerhouse at this point went without saying. He still couldn't help but feel at least a little apprehensive though: Grimmjow very much doubted that Lilith had shown _all_ of her abilities during their last stand-off.

He realized he'd completely zoned out during Kuchiki's explanation of Tessai's role in all this (something about using barriers to protect the camp) and forced himself to focus. She was already glaring at him. "Orihime and Jaegerjaquez," she addressed them, her irritation at him quickly making way for concern once she turned to the other girl. "Your task is probably the most difficult one, considering you're the only two-man team."

She had to visibly swallow down what would probably have been a dig at Grimmjow's inability to work with others, but carried on nonetheless. "Once Hyperion reveals himself, you two will chase him down, neutralize him, and if at all possible: capture him alive."

She addressed Grimmjow in particular this time, and he was already grinding his teeth in annoyance before she could even say anything. "I know you hold a grudge," she started, and glared again when he rolled his eyes in response, "But he's too valuable to kill. If nothing else, he has to have information on the enemy forces and their abilities. We _need_ that intel. Ichigo says he trusts you for whatever reason, so I'll do so as well, in spite of my every instinct telling me not to."

Her open animosity toward him was somewhat annoying, but not unexpected. He _had_ shoved his hand into her guts at one point during the Winter War, so it only made sense that she wasn't his biggest fan. Grudgingly, he had to admit that her blatant refusal to be cowed by him actually made him feel just a smidgen of respect for the girl.

She met his gaze dead-on, her purple eyes hard and uncompromising. " _Don't_ screw this up," she commanded.

Grimmjow huffed, unsure if he was amused or irritated at her grandstanding. He side-eyed Orihime, seeing the eager, determined expression on her face, then turned back to Rukia. He lightly inclined his head, even as Orihime excitably and repeatedly nodded, to show that they would stick to the plan.

"Alright. Then we should all prepare to head out. Let's go and find Nel," she said to Ichigo, and the two of them started backtracking toward the center of the camp. "We can all see each other off after we-"

 _"I'm afraid you won't have time for that, Kuchiki-san,"_ Urahara's voice urgently interrupted. All of them reflexively reached up to cup a hand around their earpieces, blocking the outside noises as much as possible. _"My scanners just detected Lilith Southwest of your position. She's alone, and quickly heading towards the location of Izanagi's Seal. She must_ _not_ _be allowed to reach it!"_

Ichigo bit out a curse as Rukia dashed off to collect Nel without another word. So much for doing this at their own pace, then.

" _That's not all,"_ Urahara continued. _"I picked up Hyperion's Reiatsu as well, not too far from her location. I believe he's heading towards Haven, but at an unusually slow pace. Remember that Inoue-san has not yet been exposed to Lilith's Reiatsu, so wait until he's sufficiently far away from her before you engage!"_

At that, Grimmjow instantly whirled around, facing the direction their targets were in, closed his eyes, and sent out a pulse of Reiatsu directly in front of him as he activated his _Pesquisa_. He pumped quite a bit more power into the technique than he normally would, trying to stretch his detection range as far as possible, and was rewarded for his efforts when he picked up just the barest hints of two Reiatsu signatures, both about five kilometers away. He had the faintest, niggling impression of something about Lilith's Reiatsu being different from the last time he had faced her, but couldn't be sure at this range. Besides: _she_ wasn't his target.

Grimmjow's manic grin nearly split his face in half when he locked onto Hyperion's familiar energy signature.

_Fucking finally ._

"Well, looks like we're up," Ichigo said, his shoulder brushing against Grimmjow's even as Orihime flanked his other side. All three of them let their gazes wander across the sprawling, white desert before them. The enemies they would soon be facing were no joke, but even so, none of them felt any hesitation. They had been training for this moment for weeks now. All that remained was to put the plan into motion.

At long last, Grimmjow would have his revenge.

"Rukia and Nel are coming. I should go," Ichigo announced. With a smile that didn't quite manage to hide his concern, he ordered: "Make sure you come back in once piece, you hear me? Both of you."

Grimmjow chuckled. "Worry about yourself first, Kurosaki," he replied, wearing a lazy smirk.

"Yes, please be careful too, Kurosaki-kun," Orihime added, and after some internal deliberation, rushed forward to wrap him in a quick hug. After getting over his surprise at her uncharacteristic boldness, he returned it. That time spent training with Hacchi had really helped her come out of her shell, it seemed.

When she stepped back, her face was almost redder than her hair, to the two men's shared amusement. Their eyes met, and Ichigo's oddly mischievous gaze had Grimmjow feeling apprehensive. He took a half-step back. "If you try to hug me, Kurosaki," he warned, narrowing his eyes, "I _will_ hurt you."

The teen just huffed out a breath, before extending his hand instead. Grimmjow stared at it, then at Ichigo's face, proceeded to dramatically roll his eyes, and finally reached out to shake it. As soon as Ichigo's fingers wrapped around his hand however, the teen jerked him forward, and used his free arm to wrap him in a one-armed embrace, patting him on the back.

Grimmjow's eye-twitch was back. _With a vengeance._

"Just remember what I said," Kurosaki spoke softly, amusement coloring his voice, "There's more to you now than just anger and revenge. You can take him." Ichigo gave him one last squeeze, then let go and hurriedly backed away. He gave them both a quick mock-salute, and dashed off toward the other members of his party before Grimmjow could make good on his threat.

Grimmjow just sighed deeply and ran a hand through his hair in exasperation as the trio made their way toward Lilith, Orihime waving them off.

"You can sense them with your Pesquisa, right Grimmjow-san?" she asked him.

Ah, he'd been bumped back up to _-san,_ had he? He _knew_ they'd all been messing with him yesterday. Oh well. "Drop the honorifics. You're not gonna have time for them once we're fighting," he ordered. "Speaking of which, your name's too long. I'm just gonna call you Hime."

She blinked owlishly at the casualness with which he'd essentially cut her name in half.

"And yes, I can. Why'd you ask?"

"O- oh. I just wanted to say that I would leave the timing of our attack to you. You've fought Lilith before, so you would have a better idea of the range at which her ability could affect me."

"...Right." He wasn't sure he would ever get used to the apparent ease with which these people entrusted their lives to him. His statement about all of the kid's friends being at least some form of insane clearly held true.

… _Dammit._

Once more, Grimmjow closed his eyes, keeping a firm lock on Hyperion, as well as Lilith and her three pursuers' Reiatsu. Hyperion continued moving at a snail's pace, but Lilith sure seemed to be in a hurry to get places. More likely than not, she intended to add some of the Shinigami present near the Seal to her little zombie army. Either that, or she intended to act as back-up for her sister, and the so-called Goddess was more than sufficient a threat without Lilith screwing with everyone's heads.

… Why couldn't he shake the feeling that something about her Reiatsu was off?

He clicked his teeth, forcing himself to focus. Lilith was Ichigo's target, and he and his teammates were more than capable of handling the bitch. _Their_ focus should be on Hyperion, who was going to be a big enough challenge _without_ Grimmjow getting distracted over what was probably nothing.

"It's time," Grimmjow brusquely informed his companion. She tensed up for a moment, then forced herself to relax and take a deep, fortifying breath.

"Right. Let's go."

The pair set off, with Grimmjow charging forward with a hum of _Sonido_ – nowhere near his top speed, mind, but at a respectable pace nonetheless – and Orihime managing to keep up without too much difficulty. She wasn't flying on her shield or anything like that; that was far too slow a method of travel to keep up with _Sonido,_ and deprived her of her best defense to boot.

Instead, she started running after him, waited until she had picked up a decent speed, and then simply... vanished.

When Grimmjow briefly blurred into view to take a step on the ground in between bursts of _Sonido,_ she reappeared out of thin air, right next to him, before shimmering out of existence once more, leaving behind a haze of orange Reishi. In the brief instances where she was visible, the only thing out of the ordinary about her was the way her hairpins were faintly glowing.

At the rate they were going, it didn't take long before they were close enough to feel the weight of Hyperion's Reiatsu pressing down on them. Just regular Reiatsu, for now at least: Hyperion had not established a Dominion with _Reishuken_ yet. Small mercies, Grimmjow supposed.

"Do you think he sensed us approaching?" Orihime asked when they halted, a single tall dune the only thing separating them from their target.

"Of course he did," Grimmjow gruffly replied. He was no expert on Kido, but he had seen first-hand just how precise the Reiatsu sense of a Master like Tessai was. Perhaps Takahashi's Hollow hadn't inherited that ability from his host, but if he had, then he could have been tracking them from the very moment they arrived in Hueco Mundo. Grimmjow wasn't taking that risk.

"He's still moving really slowly though," Orihime pointed out.

"Che. He probably doesn't think there's any reason to hurry," Grimmjow sneered, annoyed at being underestimated. "Let's give him one, shall we?" He looked at Orihime, murder in his eyes, and his Mask Fragment spontaneously manifested with a flare of dark blue Reiatsu in response to his shift in temperament. Orihime wisely took several steps back when he whipped out his sword. "Grind! _Pantera!"_

Her hair whipped around her face as the veritable torrent of energy her companion released created a massive dust devil that made her extremely appreciative of the fact that she had chosen to wear long sleeves and jeans today; she'd realized beforehand that a skirt and blouse probably wouldn't be ideal for fighting in a desert. Getting sandblasted without any protection would _not_ have been fun. Of course, she could have evaded it completely with her new ability, but she was not about to use _that_ one so frivolously. The effects of overusing it were... unpleasant.

When the wind died down, she was greeted by the image of Grimmjow's in his true form: bony white, segmented armor that covered everything but his head and part of his chest, clawed hands and feet, wicked sharp protrusions jutting out of his forearms and calves... and a tail.

She had to admit, the tail was kind of cute. And the _hair!_ She had to ask him what product he used. Just as soon as she figured out a way to ask that wouldn't get her disemboweled.

"Heh. That got his attention," Grimmjow chuckled darkly, drawing Orihime out of her impromptu analysis of how his release had altered the skeletal structure of his feet. He was even taller now that he walked on his toes instead of the soles of his feet, like a predator. Once Orihime focused her senses, she could indeed feel Hyperion rapidly closing in on them.

It wasn't long at all before the white, armor-clad Visored appeared on the crest of the nearby dune, causing a small sand avalanche when his bulky form touched down. **"Now** _ **this**_ **is a surprise,"** the worse half of Takahashi (and wasn't that an accomplishment?) practically purred at them. **"Did the scaredy-cat come out to play?"**

Grimmjow's grin was positively _manic,_ his newly-gained, razor-sharp teeth making it all the more disturbing. Relieved that it wasn't aimed at her, Orihime moved closer to him and called forth Tsubaki, having the fairy take the shape of a luminous arrow pointed directly at Hyperion.

"Oh, I sure did," Grimmjow replied, flexing his claws in anticipation. "I've been looking forward to cutting you to pieces."

The Hollow _cackled,_ the distorted, double tone of his voice seeming to add an echoing effect. It probably would have disturbed Orihime once, but by now she was used to Ichigo's own demonic laugh when he wore his Mask, which somehow managed to be even worse.

" **And you had to bring a little girl along to do it? I never had high expectations for you, Arrancar, but you've** **_still_** **managed to disappoint m-** "

Orihime decided she wasn't going to let him finish that sentence. Before Hyperion could react, Tsubaki shot forward, shifting into his Spear form mid-flight and accelerating at such absurd speeds that he was nothing but a blinding streak of dark orange light to the naked eye. A streak of light that pierced straight through Hyperion's shoulder.

The corrupted Visored cut off his sentence with a pained hiss, clutching at the site of the injury. He pulled his massive hand away just in time for Grimmjow and Orihime to see the cut underneath finish stitching itself back together, yet the gouge Tsubaki had made in the armor stayed exactly where it was.

It was Grimmjow turn to laugh, now. "Little girl, huh?" he mocked Hyperion. "You'll only be making that mistake once, trust me."

Orihime didn't take pride in having injured another human being (more or less), but what she _could_ take pride in was the fact that for the very first time, she had genuinely stood up for herself. Had not let someone simply walk over her and get away with it, or had someone else do the fighting for her. For the first time, she felt in control.

And while she wouldn't let it show on her face, not here and now at least, the fact that someone as strong as Grimmjow had openly agreed that she _wasn't_ just a little girl playing around on a battlefield had a rush of relief and gratitude welling up in her chest.

She vowed that she wouldn't let him down; would not let that trust be misplaced.

 **"Not a little girl, indeed,"** Hyperion muttered, now eyeing her warily. **"Well, her at least. You, I'm not sure about yet,"** he added flippantly, tilting his head at Grimmjow.

Very calmly and rationally, Grimmjow responded to that taunt by firing one of his _Garra de la Pantera_ at Hyperion's face.

He dodged it.

_Fuck._

Hyperion laughed as the barb Grimmjow had shot at him exploded somewhere in the distance, causing a huge column of sand to spout up into the sky. " **Pretty feisty, both of you,"** he remarked casually. His demeanor shifted rapidly however, when wisps of dark Reiatsu snaked all over his torso, the Black Chains Samael had shackled him with beginning to manifest as a warning for taking too long . **"Unfortunately for all of us..."** the monster's glowing, purple eyes _blazed._

_**"Playtime's over."** _

The sand at Hyperion's feet _exploded_ , an ever-expanding circle of pure force rapidly eating away at the remaining distance separating him from Grimmjow and Orihime, until it washed over them like a tidal wave.

The blood in Grimmjow's veins turned to ice. The phantom pain of his lungs filling with blood had his breath catch in his throat. He couldn't breathe, couldn't _move, couldn't -_

" _There's more to you now than just anger and revenge."_

Grimmjow remembered, then. The sight of Ichigo blocking Nnoitra's blade. Ichigo shielding him from Hyperion's oppressive aura with his own Reiatsu. The warmth of Ichigo's arm around his shoulders.

" _You can take him."_

Grimmjow took a deep, shuddering breath as the icy hand wrapped around his heart _shattered._ He shook his head to clear it, tail whipping about in irritation for the moment of weakness.

" **Oh? You can still move? Maybe you won't end up disappointing me after all."**

Grimmjow snarled at the Visored's stupid face, undoubtedly smirking at him from behind that oversized mask. Hyperion came second though, first he had to-

"You alright?" he asked a trembling Orihime. "This is your first time exposed to his power, isn't it?"

She didn't move, at first. Then, Orihime closed her eyes and exhaled slowly. The shaking didn't exactly stop, but it did lessen quite a bit. When she opened her eyes again, they were filled with an unshakable determination. "He's a terrifying enemy to be sure. But that doesn't matter," she stated with a surprisingly calm tone. "I've already wasted enough time cowering behind others. Right now, what I fear most is being useless once again and letting everyone down. Compared to that, this is nothing!"

She flared her Reiatsu as if to declare her challenge, and even if it barely amounted to a soft breeze when up against Grimmjow's far larger reserves, the sight of her standing tall, with her hair and clothes billowing wildly about her as her Reiatsu shrouded her in a bright orange glow, Grimmjow had to admit he was impressed. She looked positively _fierce._ Gone was the scared little girl he had once dragged around Las Noches, slung over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. He had a _warrior_ standing at his side.

Thunder roared as the activation of Hyperion's Plasma Shroud sent out massive, lethal arcs of electricity in every direction. Patches of sand turned into pools of molten glass upon being struck, and Hueco Mundo's night sky was rapidly drowned out by a thick blanket of dark gray clouds.

With a sick, squelching sound, bone ripped free of Hyperion's back, until the skeletal structure of his demonic wings cast a truly terrifying outline with the rapidly vanishing moon illuminating him from behind.

The sight had Grimmjow baring his teeth in a predatory grin. This was going to be _fun._ "Let's kick his ass."

"Yes, let's."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I think we can all agree that this rematch has been a long, _long_ time coming.
> 
> I seriously struggled with this chapter: editing and re-writing it actually took me longer than writing the first draft did, and I'm _still_ not happy with how it turned out. Hopefully, reading it was more enjoyable than writing it was.


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Japanese terms used in this chapter:
> 
> Yari: Spear
> 
> Hime: Princess

### Chapter 23: The White Tiger's Fang

Standing shoulder-to-shoulder with his Captain, Renji looked out over what would soon become their battleground once again. Here, the desert sands had drunk deep of Shinigami blood; countless splotches of red stained the area around the Seal itself like a massive, crimson halo. It was a gruesome reminder of their previous failures.

They could not - _would not_ \- fail today.

Numerically speaking, they hadn't brought out all that large a force this time – only the best and brightest from each of the three Divisions participating in the attack. Every single Shinigami present was Seated, and all of them had at the very least attained Shikai. Experience had though them that anything less would not be enough to remain standing on a battlefield where the Goddess reigned.

Their target was easy to spot from where Renji and Byakuya's position. She was rather hard to miss after all, being over eight feet tall and with a remarkably similar body structure to Captain Zaraki.

Kali - the Goddess of War and greatest of the Five - certainly cut an imposing figure as she stood tall atop the Seal holding Commander Yamamoto, surrounded by a veritable sea of Hollows.

More than one Arrancar could be spotted among their number; black marks at the nexus of a network of black lines that crawled all over their bodies marked them as Lilith's thralls. Renji could only hope that Ichigo and Rukia would be able to put the witch down fast. These people weren't here of their own free will. Arrancar or not, Renji had no desire to slaughter unwilling victims.

"That's certainly different from last time," he commented warily, letting his eyes roam over the countless faces, some more monstrous than others, that stared back at the gathered Shinigami troops. It was positively eerie, seeing the blank look in the eyes of the many Hollows surrounding Kali and the Seal. "I didn't think she'd have much use for an army. With her abilities, they'll only be getting in her way."

"I can only assume she intends to bleed us before we reach the Seal," Byakuya suggested after a thoughtful pause. "Either that, or she wishes for only the strong to challenge her directly." Before any more could be said, the voice of one of the Kido Corps members resounded in their heads, telepathically sharing his message between the Captains and Vice Captains present through _Tenteikura:_

_"Targets Lilith and Hyperion have been localized. Kurosaki Ichigo and allies are currently in pursuit."_

"Renji," Byakuya said gravely, "It is time."

Captains Zaraki and Hitsugaya, their lieutenants, as well as Ikkaku and Yumichika all joined Renji at Byakuya's side. The eight of them, despite the fact that only the strongest from each division were here, nonetheless still accounted for the bulk of their military power. If anyone was going to make it through the throngs of Hollows and reach the Seal, it was going to be them.

Byakuya pulled his blade free of its sheath and raised Senbonzakura up high. The Shinigami army at their backs instantly fell silent and took up battle-ready stances.

"All forces," Byakuya barely even had to raise his voice to be heard. Even the rowdy Eleventh Division members listened attentively when Byakuya Kuchiki spoke. He swung his sword down, pointing the tip directly at Kali. "Attack!"

Their carefully planned strategy devolved to utter chaos in record time.

One moment Renji had been surveying the battlefield, the next he found himself in the thick of it, completely surrounded by Hollows and Arrancar alike, desperately carving a bloody path to the Seal with Zabimaru. The sword was _saturated_ with blood and gore, every extension and contraction of the whip-like blade accompanied by squelching sounds and particles of dissolving Hollow flesh flaking off.

He got a moment's reprieve from the slaughter when he met up with Rangiku, the lethal cloud of dust that made up her Shikai managing to hold the enemy at bay as the pair stood back-to-back, granting them both some much-needed seconds in which to catch their breath.

Then he was off again, thrusting Zabimaru straight ahead and stabbing directly through at least three Hollows before retracting his Zanpakuto, a flood of gore coming back with it when he brutally tore the weapon loose.

Spurred on by the sight of Captain Hitsugaya repeatedly dive-bombing Kali, appearing more Frost Dragon than man in that moment, the blood-soaked redhead bellowed out a war cry, never having looked more worthy of the title 'Death God' as he took a wide swing with all his might, cutting through the mob blocking his path.

The maneuver left him vulnerable for a critical moment while he retracted Zabimaru, which an eager Arrancar sought to take advantage of, stepping on and over the still-dissolving corpses of her unwilling allies to charge at Renji. Had the Arrancar still had any clarity of mind, she might have spotted Byakuya casting his spell before the yellow flash of an _Okasen_ sheared her body in half.

In death, she was released from Lilith's control, and the black kiss mark on her forehead dissolved. Confusion was all Renji could see in the woman's suddenly wide eyes, before they rolled back in her head and never saw anything again. Gritting his teeth, Renji forced himself to run past before the two halves of her body could even hit the ground. This was madness, pure and simple. War always was.

All the more reason to put an end to it quickly.

" _Bankai! Hihio Zabimaru!"_

His Bankai manifested in a tidal wave of crimson energy, rocketing straight through the last few Hollows blocking his path to the Seal, before coalescing into the familiar form of a massive skeletal snake. Once it turned fully solid, _Hihio Zabimaru_ swept its entire body to the side, bowling over any enemies in its path and clearing the way for Renji and Byakuya to engage Kali directly.

Renji turned around to ensure Byakuya was still behind him, and that they were both on the same page where their plan of attack was concerned, when a sharp pain on his upper arm made him stumble.

"Ow!" With some quick footwork, he managed to limit his slip-up to just a single misstep, rather than falling flat on his face, then whirled around to see who – or what – had attacked him. He spotted a slim figure in flowing white robes disappear into the throng of Hollows, but there was no one else in his immediate vicinity he could attribute the attack to.

"Dammit," he muttered under his breath, relieved to find his 'injury' was really just a small, insignificant little cut. It barely even bled. He'd gotten lucky, or _un_ lucky perhaps, considering it was likely the result of a stray projectile of some sort.

He turned around again, asking: "Captain, did you see-?" Renji blinked. Byakuya was nowhere to be seen.

"Could have sworn he was..." Renji shook his head. _"Focus!"_ Facing the Seal once more, he commanded his Bankai to coil around him protectively as he made his way to Captain Hitsugaya's side. Even if he would have preferred to have his own Captain with him, Kali was not an opponent anyone should have to face alone. If Renji was the only one available to provide backup, then so be it.

As he closed in on his target however, things started to become... strange.

When Hitsugaya swooped in and doled out a stroke of his icy blade that _should_ have taken Kali's head off, it just sort of... phased through her, instead.

Because there was nothing actually there.

"W- what?" Renji slowed to a halt as his vision blurred. His head felt like someone was stuffing it with wads of cotton.

Renji looked around him, feeling like a man caught in the eye of a storm as he took in the utter insanity playing out around him. His horror steadily mounted as he realized just why their carefully laid-out plan had fallen apart so quickly.

The troops they had brought along weren't just fighting the Hollows. A disturbingly large number of them were fighting _each other_ instead.

Some of them weren't even fighting _anything_ , swinging their blades at thin air and ducking out of the way of non-existent danger.

And Captain Hitsugaya... he wasn't fighting Kali. In fact, Kali wasn't even _here._ Instead, on top of Izanagi's Seal, there was a man with a gigantic, bright orange afro, a phantom image of the Goddess superimposed over his body. While still a large man in his own right, the stranger was at least two full heads shorter than her, so it was no wonder Captain Hitsugaya wasn't managing to land a hit. On the man's chest, Renji could see some sort of symbol, drawn in blood and written with characters he did not recognize.

Even as Renji watched, the phantom image faded away completely, leaving him to observe as Captain Hitsugaya's every attack missed its mark completely as the young Captain continued trying to hit a far larger target than what was actually in front of him.

The sound of a woman's laugh reverberated in his skull as the skin around his injury began to prickle.

Numbly, Renji raised his shaking limb to eye-height, watching as a black mark continued to spread out from the edges of the wound, slowly forming into a set of lips.

The last thing Renji was aware of before he lost himself entirely, was the sound of the Harlot Queen's mocking laughter, echoing across the blood-soaked desert sands.

* * *

"We'll have to get rid of that Shroud, first," Orihime pointed out as she tended to the electrical burn on Grimmjow's foot.

Now, he wasn't an idiot, he _knew_ that physically attacking Hyperion was a terrible idea, but it wasn't like the bastard had left him many other options with how relentlessly he'd come after Grimmjow. Even then, Grimmjow had shown some truly remarkably restraint by merely using the corrupted Visored's partially-formed wing as a springboard to launch himself to safety, rather than kicking him in the face like he'd really wanted to.

He had reasoned that the Plasma Shroud covering him may have been weaker there, seeing as the wing was still mostly bone with little to no flesh covering it, and he hadn't been wrong: the backhanded strike he'd received to the shoulder earlier on had definitely hurt more, and had left his muscles twitching erratically for several seconds afterwards. Compared to that, his foot had just gotten a little jolt.

"Well, _obviously,"_ Grimmjow sneered. "Any ideas on _how_ we're supposed to do that, Princess?"

A familiar tingling down their spines had them both quiet for a moment as they focused on their Reiatsu while shutting their eyes and covering their ears. They both still saw the bright flash, burning red through their closed eyelids, and heard the deafening clap of thunder as a lightning strike originally meant for them instead bored into the sand by their feet, creating another burning puddle of molten glass. They quickly relocated to a safer environment.

Thank the fucking stars for Kuchiki telling them how to redirect that damned lightning by manipulating their Reiatsu output.

After the ringing in their ears quieted down somewhat, and they confirmed their opponent was still content to hang back as he finished growing his wings, they continued their conversation.

"I actually have an idea. Although it's rather... rough in its execution."

"Well I'm all ears," Grimmjow ground out, quickly shooting two more exploding barbs from his elbow, which Hyperion shielded himself from by folding one wing in front of his body.

_Damn._ They were already sturdy enough to defend with.

Orihime withdrew the two fairies she was using on Grimmjow, deeming him sufficiently healed, then brought out the other four, who configured themselves into a glowing spear and shield.

Although, it couldn't exactly be called a shield anymore. Whatever this thing was, it actually covered a _smaller_ area than her usual _Santen Kesshun,_ and had three sharp points, one where each of the three fairies creating the construct resided. It looked more like a three-pointed Shuriken than a shield.

"That Shroud has to be a constant drain on his energy reserves," Orihime reasoned, "So if we want him to take it down, we just have to force him to use up a lot of energy."

"Which we'll do how, exactly?"

"You've been training with Ichigo for a while now, haven't you? Didn't you ever notice which of his abilities tired him out the most?"

Grimmjow let out a low gasp as the answer came to him: "Regeneration _..._ "

Back when they had first started training together, and Ichigo had only just begun to tap into the bare basics of his Hollow powers... Before he had even figured out how to encase himself in armor – in _Acero –_ and the only thing protecting him from Grimmjow's sword had been basic _Hierro_ , his Regenerative abilities had been what allowed him to keep fighting for as long as he had during those fairly brutal sparring sessions.

All Kurosaki had needed to heal back then had been a couple of cuts, and even that much had caused a noticeable drop in Reiatsu, followed by complete exhaustion by the time they were finished beating the crap out of each other.

"So if we did some _real_ damage to him," Grimmjow reasoned aloud, "Say, by cutting off a limb or two... I'd be able to pound on him as much as I want after?" She frowned at the implied brutality, but nodded nonetheless. Grimmjow smiled at the prospect, and absently shot a couple more barbs at Hyperion before the Visored could get any bright ideas of his own.

"Still, that means we'll have to get past his Shroud at least once, and preferably _without_ killing ourselves. My barbs aren't doing all that much, and if I tried chipping away at him with continuous Ceros, I'd probably just be wearing _myself_ out first."

"I'm aware of that." Orihime took a deep breath, face drawing tight. "Which is why _I_ plan on dealing the first blow."

He stared at her. For a moment, he even forgot all about Hyperion. "...Really? You?" She nodded. "...Just what are you planning on doing?"

"Well, none of my attacks require physical contact," she started off hesitantly, "So I figured I would just distract him with Tsubaki, then use _Santen Kesshun_ to... to..." She closed her eyes for a moment, making an expression that told Grimmjow she was contemplating every major life decision she had ever made to have led her to this point. "...To saw his arm off."

Grimmjow continued to stare. Then, his eyes lit up like a child in a candy store, and Orihime suddenly found herself regretting everything. "Oh, I _like_ the sound of that," Grimmjow chuckled darkly, a bloodthirsty grin overtaking his face.

Orihime sighed miserably. "Yes, I suppose you would," she agreed dryly.

" **Are you two about done?!"** Hyperion irritably yelled at them from two dunes over, clearly fed up with being ignored, no matter how advantageous it may have been for him. By now, thick, leathery white flesh had filled out the spaces between the bones, forming two massive, disfigured wings that could never be used for flight, yet provided Hyperion with a highly versatile, organic shield. **"You do realize you just gave me all the time I needed to shore up my defenses, right?!"**

" _Good!"_ Grimmjow yelled back petulantly. "That's more of you I can _cut to shreds!_ "

He focused his attention back on Orihime, still with that battle-mad gleam in his eyes, but sounding a lot more rational and in-control. "Hime. Your fairy alone isn't gonna be enough to keep him busy. I still have some barbs left, so I'll use those to harass him while you look for an opening." He grabbed her by the shoulders, hard enough for her to feel his claws lightly dig into her flesh, but not to the point of being painful. This was just a reminder for her to stay focused. "Once you have that opening, _you_ _take it_ , got that?"

"Right!"

With that, Grimmjow let her go and dashed off, using his superior speed to quickly close in on the Visored and weave through the crackling arcs of electricity Hyperion released from his hands.

Once he felt he was close enough, Grimmjow began to circle around, forcing his much less agile opponent to turn away from Orihime when he continued shooting _Balas_ at every piece of Hyperion that wasn't covered by his wings. Quite a few actually wound up being direct hits, but since they lacked the sheer destructive power of a _Cero,_ they did little more than make him stumble a bit.

… Which nicely coincided with Tsubaki approaching in his Arrow form and slashing through one of the wings while he was distracted, tearing through the leathery membrane.

Grimmjow's heart briefly leapt up into his throat when Hyperion whipped around with an angry snarl and shot a Bala of his own right at Orihime, but he needn't have worried. The only thing the energy bullet managed to do was disturb the faint haze of lingering, orange Reishi left in the wake of Orihime using her _Phase_ ability to dodge. He saw her reappear a little to the left of her original position, perfectly unharmed.

The unusually pointy _Santen Kesshun_ she'd left behind, which was now spinning rapidly like a circular saw blade – and still gaining speed – obediently trailed after her.

Tsubaki came around again to leave another gouge on Hyperion's body before he returned to his wielder, but this time the fairy had gotten too greedy: with a quick swipe, the Visored's massive hand swatted him out of the air with a resounding crackle of electricity and sent him crashing into the desert sands, flakes of orange Reishi shedding from his little body as he died on impact.

Grimmjow cursed aloud, quickly swooping in while Hyperion was still distracted to shoot two more barbs at his face from close range while Orihime went to collect her fairy's body before it broke down into Reishi completely. One of the barbs went wide, but the other nailed him right in the Mask, leaving a sizable crack.

Their assumption had been correct, Grimmjow couldn't help but notice: Hyperion did indeed only have four of those purple markings decorating his mask. And if Urahara was right, then his fifth ability, the armor-reinforcement Takahashi had used to survive a point-blank Kido in the 90's range while fighting the old man, could only be activated by his Hollow and Shinigami halves working together.

If the state of his mask was any indication, they weren't. Meaning that once they got that Shroud down, Grimmjow's Shikai would be able to make short work of dismantling the bastard's body into tiny little pieces.

But not just yet. He had to keep it hidden for now – Byakko was going to be his trump card in this battle.

His musings were quickly put on hold when Orihime appeared at her fallen fairy's side in a flicker of orange, scooping his broken body up into her arms, then turning on her heel and running away again as fast as she could. Instantly, Hyperion's eyes locked onto her, preoccupying Grimmjow with another discharge of lightning from his fingertips before he charged after her, reaching out with one massive hand to crush her skull between his fingers.

She'd only just _Phased_ , Grimmjow knew she wouldn't be able to do it again so soon after. He rolled out of the way of the rapidly approaching arcs of energy, seeing that hand getting closer and closer to the girl's head, and he knew right away that neither his last two remaining barbs nor _Sonido_ would be enough to save her.

Time for the big guns, then.

" _Desgarrón!"_

His nails lit up with a bright, electric blue glow, and long trails of solidified Reishi arched up into the clouded night sky. As soon as the technique was sufficiently charged, Grimmjow swiped his claws forward and let it loose. _"C'mon, get there, dammit!"_ he desperately thought as he watched his strongest attack tear through the air, towards Hyperion, whose hand kept inching closer, burning away errant strands of Orihime's hair as they touched the Shroud, those nails _almost digging into the back of her head-!_

Hyperion was roughly slammed to the side and away from Orihime when one of the five glowing streaks of light embedded itself in his upper arm, even as the other four slightly curved around to carve four large gouges across his chest armor. Not two seconds later, Orihime's form wavered again, before dissolving entirely into an orange haze. She reappeared at a safer distance, and quickly reformed Tsubaki's corpse back into a noticeably cracked piece of one of her hairpins.

A crack that started mending almost immediately.

After all, as long as Orihime had _Souten Kisshun,_ death wasn't nearly as permanent as some believed it to be.

Not about to waste such a golden opportunity, Grimmjow continued shooting Balas at the bastard even as he was still reeling from the damage caused by _Desgarrón_ , intending to keep him from getting back to his feet for as long as possible.

Like Ichigo had come to learn quite well during their frequent spars, Grimmjow was _very_ good at making a nuisance of himself in battle when he wanted to. Hyperion too quickly came to learn that fact when the barrage of energy bullets coming at him from every which way simply would not let up, knocking him back down more than once and leaving him completely disoriented.

It wasn't long before the monster's limited patience ran out.

With a horrifying, deafening roar that had the very air around them vibrating from its intensity, Hyperion dramatically upped his Reiatsu output, releasing crackling tendrils of energy that tore apart Grimmjow's Balas before they could reach their mark, and left the Visored standing in middle of a lake of molten glass by the time the efflux of power abated.

Grimmjow could feel the chill seeping back into his veins under the increased weight of the Visored's Reiatsu, but forced himself to power through and disregard it to the extent that was possible. Hyperion was still focusing on him, which meant that he _wasn't_ focusing on Orihime, which in turn meant...

" _Koten Zanshun: Yari!"_

Grimmjow had a fantastic view of the bastard's eyes going wide with shock when he hurried to whip around and face the unexpected threat, but he was far – _far_ too slow to dodge something as fast as Tsubaki's Spear form.

Before he could even fully turn around, the narrow shaft of light ripped straight through his shoulder, using the gap in his armor left by Orihime's _first_ attack as an entry point, and exploded out the other end in a shower of blood and broken fragments of _Acero._

Hyperion clearly struggled to bite back a scream, and quickly folded one wing over the injury to give it time to regenerate... only to come face to face with Grimmjow, sailing past him in mid-air and grinning maniacally as he pointed an elbow at him.

"Eat this!" he taunted joyfully, and fired his last two barbs.

The dual explosions stripped the flesh of the wing clean off the bones, once again exposing the injured arm and at the same time forcing Hyperion to squeeze his eyes shut and look away from the blast.

He must have been so confused when he heard the whirring sound of the _Santen Kesshun_ turned saw-blade making a beeline for him... until it slammed right into his injured, exposed shoulder and began brutally tearing its way through his flesh, that is.

Orihime quickly turned green when the screams began, coupled with the horrifying grinding noise her attack made as it sawed through muscle, sinew and bone.

Grimmjow had to give her props for not hesitating, as well as for not aborting the attack even when she looked to be about five seconds away from losing her breakfast.

With a sound like breaking glass, Hyperion shattered the construct dismembering him with a single punch from his free hand, knocking the three fairies out of it and sending them back to Orihime - along with Tsubaki - but the damage had been done.

Grimmjow had to appreciate Orihime's great sense of timing: she had turned aside to empty her stomach just in time to avoid seeing Hyperion's blood-splattered right arm fall to the ground with a heavy thump.

With a quick burst of Sonido, he touched down not too far from her, making sure to put himself in between her and Hyperion, who glowered at the pair as he struggled to control his breathing.

" **I was wrong... about you two,"** he eventually grit out, slowly sinking to one knee. The Plasma Shroud covering him flickered, letting out some final, angry snapping sounds, then dissipated.

They had done it.

" **I never imagined... you would lower yourself... to playing bait, Arrancar. And you, girl..."** he addressed Orihime, who met his gaze unflinchingly even as she wiped her mouth on her sleeve. **"I didn't think you capable of such brutality. I'm impressed."**

Slowly, he reaches out to his severed arm with his remaining hand. **"You made one... very big mistake, however..."** He lifted the arm up, and pressed it against his profusely bleeding shoulder. **"You weren't thorough** _ **enough**_ **."**

To their shared horror, the cascade of blood was replaced by a much slower drip of the thick, white fluid that accompanies a Hollow's Regeneration, and before they knew it, Hyperion was already stretching out his reattached arm, wriggling the fingers as if to test them. **"You won't be getting a second chance,"** he warned them, even as the Shroud flickered back to life.

Grimmjow was milliseconds away from loudly snarling something that would undoubtedly have made Orihime cringe at the sheer vulgarity, but something else entirely captured his attention before he could.

He turned his gaze westward, where Ichigo's group should have been facing Lilith... except for the fact that it wasn't Lilith's Reiatsu he was now picking up. And it wasn't because it had disappeared, either.

_It had been replaced with someone else's.  
_

A Reiatsu neither Grimmjow or Orihime had ever felt before, but which was similar enough to Lilith's, yet so much more powerful that there was only one person it could belong to.

"Ichigo..." Grimmjow muttered under his breath, even as a very pale-faced Orihime whispered a weak "No..."

" **Finally noticed, have you?"** His tone wasn't even mocking that time. **"I would have warned you, but..."** Hyperion tapped the black mark on his neck with a single clawed finger. **"The** ** _Queen_** **wouldn't let me."**

He spoke the word 'queen' with a strange, strangled gasp in the back of his throat, as if the word was forcibly being dragged out of him. He chuckled self-deprecatingly. **"Can you believe it? She actually spent an hour working her magic on me just to make me call her 'Queen' instead of a title she** ** _really_** **deserves. Underneath all that haughtiness, she's really just horribly insecure."**

**"Anyway. It's too late now. She may yet decide to let his companions live, if they impress her enough, but Samael was very insistent..."** Grimmjow could see it in his eyes: Hyperion wasn't trying to rile them up. He was simply stating what he believed to be a cold, hard truth. **"Kurosaki Ichigo is to die here today. Kali will see to that."**

A hand tugging on his wrist distracted Grimmjow from the dread pooling in his stomach. He turned to find Orihime looking at him pleadingly, a deep-seated terror in her eyes that even Hyperion's _Reishuken_ could never have managed to put there. "Grimmjow, we have to help them!"

A strangely irrational part of himself wanted to agree with her, but he quickly stamped down on that knee-jerk response. Playing hero would have to come second. They had a job to do, first.

"Kurosaki can handle himself just fine, princess." Grimmjow wasn't entirely sure if he was trying to convince her of that, or himself. Probably both, if he was being honest.

He wasn't.

There was a very good reason the Gotei 13 had sent out such a large force out to deal with just a single enemy, after all.

He pressed the 'talk' button on his earpiece, but all that greeted him was static. Figures. He just hoped Urahara's scanners had picked up on what was happening, and the man would send Kurosaki some backup.

"Did you forget why we're here already?" he asked Orihime when he saw the tears that sprang to her eyes at his (seemingly) casual dismissal. "Kurosaki and the others are counting on us to take that prick down. If we run off now, there won't be anything stopping him from razing Haven to the ground and picking off our allies one by one. Is that what you want?"

She seemed to wither under the force of his glare, but just when he began to fear that this reversal of fortune might have broken her spirit, she surprised Grimmjow again by squaring her shoulders and glaring at him instead.

She let go of his wrist, and wiped her eyes dry. "You're right," she practically spit out. "I hate it, but you're right. Everyone is counting on us. We have to take him down." She stepped out from behind him and leveled her glare at Hyperion instead. With a flash, she sent out her fairies and once again formed the same glowing Shuriken from earlier. As Grimmjow watched, she adjusted its shape so that the three spikes became curved, rather than straight, bringing the design closer to that of a circular saw to allow for easier cutting. "Let's just do it quickly," she added with grim determination.

Grimmjow smirked. He knew he hadn't imagined that fire in her eyes when she came to him, asking to let her fight at his side. He was glad to see he hadn't made the wrong choice after all.

"You're right," he said, tensing his claws, "we don't have time to play it safe anymore."

Concern practically radiated off of her as soon as he got the words out. "Don't tell me you going to use it _now_?"

"I am. My Shikai is all metal though, so this is probably gonna hurt." He swallowed nervously. "A shock that powerful could knock me out and stop my heart. If that happens, I'm gonna need you to get it beating again."

He could see the gears moving in her head as Orihime planned out exactly how their next attack was going to go down. Grimmjow knew this was asking a lot of her: sure, _he'd_ be the one risking his neck, but if this was going to work, then Orihime would need to direct all six of her fairies simultaneously, something she had never done before.

She clenched her teeth. "I can do it," she professed. Her voice was steady, and her eyes hard. "Please believe in me."

Grimmjow found that he did. He rather liked that determined look on her; it was far less annoying than the meekness she usually displayed. "Let's go, then," he said with all the bravado of a man about to put his life on the line, and kicked off against the sand, a bright light in the corner of his eye indicating that Tsubaki was racing along at his side.

Just before they reached Hyperion – who was quite literally awaiting them with open arms, lightning crackling at his fingertips – the fairy charged ahead, dodged another swipe of the monster's claws, and with some quick aerial maneuvering, sliced another chunk out of his wing, close to where the additional appendage sprouted from his back.

Once Tsubaki began his retreat, it was Grimmjow's turn to strike. From the way he could see Hyperion's purple eyes widen behind his Mask, it was clear he hadn't expected Grimmjow to risk a direct, frontal attack.

Genuine fear bloomed in those eyes when he saw the white armor around Grimmjow's right forearm transfigure into shifting, liquid metal.

Grimmjow stopped holding back. " _Rend!"_ he roared as he sped through the air, rocketing right towards the now visibly shaken Visored. _"BYAKKO!"_

The liquid metal completely wrapped itself around his hand and forearm, solidifying into a sleek, form-fitting silver gauntlet with blue accents. A gauntlet, from the back of which a two-and-a-half feet long, impossibly sharp pike of semisolid metal suddenly jutted out right as Grimmjow swiped his arm forward as hard as he possibly could.

White-hot agony lanced up through the arm as soon as Byakko's Fang made contact with the Plasma Shroud, radiating outward through his entire body, but the electricity only forces his muscles to contract even harder and lend _more_ power to the attack. The metal pike glowed white-hot as the surging electricity instantly superheated its wafer thin, razor-sharp edge, ironically making it even easier for Grimmjow to cut through the skin, muscle, and bone in his path, as well as any remaining layers of armor that have managed to cling to Hyperion's body after their earlier attacks.

He barely even notices it, what with all his nerves already feeling like they're on fire, when Hyperion rakes his claws across his back, successfully piercing through his own armor and injecting arcs of electricity almost directly into his spinal cord.

The pain is enough to make him black out for just a moment, and by the time he comes to his senses again, disoriented and unable to control his own body, Grimmjow finds himself sprawled out on the ground, the coolness of the sand actually feeling rather pleasant against his exposed chest, all things considered.

Directly before him lie the rapidly disintegrating remains of Hyperion's severed wing. Had he been capable of turning his head, Grimmjow might have spotted the arm he'd managed to cut off as well.

He thinks he can hear screams from somewhere close-by, as well as a strange grinding sound, but can't quite manage to properly identify the noises over the pounding in his ears.

' _Oh good,'_ he realizes as his vision blurs again. _'Heart's still beating.'_

There's a flicker of orange, and a familiar presence appears by his side.

' _Good... she_ made it ," he thinks as he feels his muscles slowly relaxing. He slowly turns his head to press his cheek against the cool sand. _'Should be fine if I... close my eyes... for just a little while..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I'm terribly sorry for disappearing for over a month without warning - I have a busy few weeks behind me. I feel especially bad since I've had this chapter (and the next) just sitting in my hard drive all this time, but I literally haven't had the time to edit it until now.
> 
> Anyway, I hope this chapter was worth the wait. Unlike the last one, which just made me want to die while I was working on it, this one was a lot of fun to write. I'm a bit worried that I'm dragging out the fight against Hyperion, but I'm having way too good a time writing out the interactions between Grimmjow and Orihime to stop.
> 
> I'll try to go back to updating every two weeks from here on out, so next update should be on the 29th. Until then!


	25. Chapter 25

### Chapter 24: Divine Deception

Orihime hates herself for agreeing to this.

She hates how she was so desperate to get to Ichigo in time that she considered _Grimmjow’s heart stopping_ an acceptable risk to take.

Hates how she just stands there and watches as Grimmjow’s body incurs the potentially lethal shock; as she sees every uncontrolled twitch his muscles make, the way his gauntlet overheats and sears his skin, the blood flowing freely from the gouges in his back, and each new injury is like another knife stabbed directly into her own heart.

Then both Grimmjow and two of Hyperion’s limbs fall onto the sand, and the time for self-loathing is over.

Orihime’s mind gets pulled in three different directions as she issues mental commands to all six of her fairies and activates _Santen Kesshun: Shuriken, Souten Kisshun: Phase,_ and the standard Arrow version of _Kouten Zanshun_ all at once.

Her view of the world fades into a bright orange haze as she partially rejects her own existence, kicking off against the sand just a mere instant before her physical form disappears completely, and then she’s off.

She sails through the air as nothing but an invisible, incorporeal shade, reaching speeds far beyond anything she could have hoped to achieve while weighed down by her own body mass. It is a very high-risk technique, not only because she cannot change direction once she activates it, but also because a single misstep could cause her to dive right into the ground or some other physical barrier, and rematerializing while _inside_ of something else... well, suffice to say the consequences would be unpleasant. And likely fatal.

The _other_ drawback was her time limit. Rejecting your very existence was obviously not something you could do for an extended duration, at least not without running the risk of fading away completely. Two and a half seconds at a time was her absolute limit for now, and even in those short bursts she could clearly feel the chill of the Void eating away at her. Doing it too many times in one day, even if she stuck to her time limit, would erode her away entirely.

When the orange haze faded, she found herself at Grimmjow’s side, having completely bypassed the screaming Hyperion. She didn’t look back at the man, instead getting right to work on treating Grimmjow’s injuries, and she _definitely_ didn’t look at the way her _Santen Kesshun_ was turning Hyperion’s severed arm into ground meat before he could reattach it once more.

She worked as quickly as she could while Tsubaki distracted their dismembered opponent, removing traces of Hyperion’s lingering Reiatsu in Grimmjow’s system, treating his burns – both electrical and heat-induced – and closing the wounds on his back, even mending the gaps in his armor while she was at it.

Restoring _Acero_ – which was technically dead tissue – may not have been possible with regular Healing abilities, but then there was very little that could be considered ‘regular’ about her powers to begin with, and it technically wasn’t ‘Healing’ either.

So far, she had only encountered one thing that could stop her powers from working properly. Speaking of which...

“...Hime?” Groaning from the effort, Grimmjow pushed himself back to his feet. “Guess we pulled it off, huh?” he asked, after glancing at the white-and-red, gory mess that had once been an arm lying underneath a lazily spinning, blood-covered _Santen Kesshun._

“We did, but Grimmjow, wait! There’s still traces of his Reiatsu in you!”

He had already been preparing to rejoin the fight, but those words gave him pause. “...Fuck. I let him touch me,” Grimmjow realized. “He put a fucking Curse on me, didn’t he?”

“...We never did find out what his Hollow form’s fourth ability was,” Orihime affirmed. “Now we know.”

Grimmjow felt at his back, expecting to find lingering injuries there, but the area seemed to be intact as far as he could tell. He looked at Orihime for an explanation, but she just shook her head.

“I could heal the wound just fine, even though I couldn’t extract the Reiatsu. His Curse must be a specialized one, like Lilith’s. I can’t tell what it does, though.”

“...Well, we don’t have time to figure it out,” Grimmjow decided, already resuming his march toward Hyperion. He stretched his arm out to the side, retracting the long pike he had used to ‘disarm’ Hyperion back into his gauntlet. In its place, four smaller blades of that same razor-sharp, not-fully-solidified metal emerged from his fingertips (excepting his thumb), and turned into massive claws instead. “Let’s just cut him to pieces before it becomes a problem.”

Tsubaki finally ceased its harassment and flew back to Orihime’s side once Grimmjow was capable of resuming the fight. Seeing his approach, Hyperion warily shifted his remaining wing so that it covered more of his front. Clearly, he wouldn’t be underestimating either of them anymore.

The Visored's Plasma Shroud finally flickered out for good as his Reiatsu output noticeably dropped, and the splashes of white liquid dripping onto the sand by his feet were proof enough that he’d been forced to grow a brand-new arm this time around.

Grimmjow’s grin was positively _maniacal._ “ Oh? Did that hurt? Better get used to it.” Grimmjow charged, readying the _White Tiger’s Claws_ to gouge those infuriating purple eyes right out of Hyperion’s skull.

“ _'Cause I’m gonna keep cutting pieces off ‘till they stop growing back!”_

* * *

 

It shouldn’t have been possible.

That was what Ichigo’s common sense was telling him, at least, but his eyes didn’t seem to agree.

The giantess of a woman who awaited them, somehow emitting a Reiatsu signature that was an exact duplicate of Lilith’s, slowly stood up once they arrived.

Even when she was seated, she had already cut quite an imposing figure. When she stood upright however, Ichigo realized she wasn’t just tall, but very, _very_ tall. At least eight feet, tall.

She was also pitch black from head to toe, and not black as in ‘dark-skinned’ either, but a shiny, reflective sort of black, as if she had been dunked into a barrel of oil and then sat in it until it had soaked into her skin. That wasn’t to say black was the only color on her, however.

On the contrary, the pale white skull shape in the center of her otherwise obsidian mask, coupled with the outline of a rib cage sprawling across her chest in white definitely served to ‘lighten up’ her overall image.

Why? Why, of all people, was _she_ here? The woman who had single-handedly defeated Byakuya and Kenpachi both, the one enemy Ichigo absolutely had not wanted to face.

“Kurosaki Ichigo,” the giantess spoke, her heavy voice easily reaching his ears even from about two dunes over. “Samael told me of you. I am Kali,” she introduced herself, bringing up a hand that was easily as massive as Hyperion’s – but actually proportionate to the rest of her - to brush against a symbol drawn on her breast in blood. “The Goddess of War.” She dragged her nails over the symbol, and scratched it out.

Instantly her Reiatsu changed, and the sand around her was pressed down and compacted as if gravity had suddenly increased tenfold.

For the first time, Ichigo understood what it was like to be _crushed_ by Reiatsu.

“It’s not real!” Rukia hissed into his ear, struggling to remain standing under the force. “Renji told me about this; it’s her _Reishuken_ ability! Everything she does, everything she _is_ , it all seems greater, more pronounced somehow! She’s definitely strong, but not _this_ strong!”

Well, knowing that did make the situation seem slightly less hopeless at least, but it did nothing to stop the sweat running down his brow from the exertion of weathering the absurd force.

“Thank god,” Rukia muttered to herself. She was clutching one of her leather braces, rubbing the white gem set into it with her thumb. “Thank god I finished these in time...”

“Ichigo, Rukia!” Nel bit out, already panting harshly. “We have to release our swords!”

“Right!” Starting off with both Bankai and his Mask would be his best bet, Ichigo decided. The Mask no longer seemed to have a time limit now that he had gotten more comfortable with using his Hollow Powers, and it was probably best to keep Resurrección in reserve, so that he could use it to heal any injuries he might sustain as the battle progressed.

Provided, of course, that her Curse didn’t stop his Regeneration from working altogether.

He swallowed thickly as he drew his blade and let the cloth around it unwind. He could certainly see now why Soul Society had so much trouble freeing Yamamoto. He actually considered running away, but he very much doubted Kali was inclined to let them leave.

Static was the only sound that came from his earpiece when Ichigo attempted to contact Urahara. Hopefully, the man would realize what was happening and alert the Shinigami forces by the Seal. If Kali was here, then Lilith had probably taken her place there. The last thing any of them needed was to lose any more allies to the witch’s Mind Control.

… Some backup would be nice, too.

“Bankai!” he called out, swirling black Reiatsu wrapping around him and solidifying into his familiar black coat. It felt good to wear it again, even if he wished his first real battle since regaining his powers wouldn’t have been quite _this_ stressful. _“Tensa Zangetsu!”_

The flood of power at his back told him that _Sode No Shirayuki_ and _Gamuza_ had been released as well. Nel, a good deal taller than him now that she was in her Centaur form, and Rukia, chilling their surroundings like a humanoid heat-sink, flanked him on both sides, staring down the most powerful member of the Five as one.

Kali grinned, her bald head only appearing more skull-like once her teeth were exposed. “Good. You are wise enough to come at me with your full power. I have gone up against many Bankai, but only once before have I faced a Compression Type.” From the knee-length piece of cloth wrapped around her waist, which Ichigo could only describe as a battle skirt – or kilt perhaps - she produced a weapon that looked rather like an absurdly short, bone white jousting lance with a blunt tip. Spiraling grooves ran from the weapon’s tip all the way to its flared base.

“And a fellow lance-wielder as well,” she continued, referring to Nel’s double-sided weapon. The black veins crisscrossing the surface of Kali’s short lance glowed midnight blue as she fed her Reiatsu into the weapon. In response, it started to expand, growing longer and larger until it was well over half her own body length.

Rukia and Nel giggled at the imagery.

Ichigo sighed.

A Shinigami ten times his age, and a tall, buxom Arrancar who between the two of them had all the maturity of Nel’s child form. These two were his only backup against the strongest member of the Five, he lamented. Grimmjow’s statement from yesterday continued to be painfully accurate; his friends really were all insane.

Having now reached the point where _Grimmjow_ was a voice of reason, Ichigo couldn’t help but fear they were all doomed.

“I must warn you, boy,” Kali continued, heedless of the plummeting level of maturity, “The last Compression Type I faced belonged to the Seireitei’s greatest warrior. I will not suffer you to tarnish my memory of that battle - my memory of _her_ _–_ with a subpar performance!” She swung her now-massive lance to the side, the air pressure from the swing alone enough to blow away the nearby dune. The girls very quickly stopped laughing.

“Don’t worry,” Ichigo assured her, bringing one hand up to his own face. “I’ll give you a fight you won’t forget.” Raking his fingers downward, he materialized his Hollow Mask in a flare of black and red energy, the additional power boost enough to forcibly push back Kali’s Reiatsu with his own.

“A Shinigami wielding the powers of a Hollow... I see why Samael has taken such an interest in you. Come then, Kurosaki Ichigo!” she bellowed, breaking into a full-frontal charge. To Ichigo, it felt rather like standing in the path of an oncoming freight train.

“Let us revel in the glory of combat!”

“ **Scatter!”** Ichigo commanded, and Nel and Rukia didn’t hesitate to do so, jumping to the side while Ichigo held his ground, producing what may have just been the single most powerful _Getsuga_ he had ever attempted and hurling it straight at the approaching Goddess.

Seeing the inky black crescent cleaving through the desert sands didn’t discourage her from approaching. On the contrary, she _laughed._ “Such power, boy!” she cheered, midnight blue eyes sparkling with childlike amusement. “An opening move like that deserves an answer in kind!”

Her lance started spinning rapidly like a drill, a whirlwind of dark blue Reiatsu with specks of black speckled throughout quickly picking up along the weapon’s outer rim. She made a wild, sweeping motion with the lance, and a gale of lethal, Reiatsu-infused winds burst forth from the weapon. The blue-tinged wall of force collided with the _Getsuga,_ seeming to mingle with it for just an instant before the two techniques ripped each other apart, creating a massive explosion of blue, black and red.

Ichigo brought up his blade to defend himself out of sheer instinct, and it was a good thing he had: the Goddess emerged from the very center of the minor cataclysm, having continued running straight ahead despite the danger, and brought her still-spinning weapon down, forcing Ichigo to use both hands to block it overhead with _Tensa Zangetsu_ and nearly sinking to his knees from the sheer power behind the strike.

Grinning widely, Kali loomed over him, giving Ichigo a close-up view of the pitch-black armor covering every inch of her massive body, the shape of the carapace hinting at the heavy musculature that lay underneath. It was like fighting a taller, female version of Kenpachi, Ichigo realized, barely suppressing a shudder at the mental image.

Her weapon continued spinning, producing a horrible grating noise against his Zanpakuto and sending streams of blue energy rushing down his arms that shredded his sleeves and tore up the skin of his arms.

Ichigo had never been more grateful for all those hours spent working on his Hierro with Grimmjow. If he hadn’t learned to reinforce his skin, those razor winds would have already torn the flesh right off his bones.

It still hurt like hell, but the pain was well worth it when he saw Nel – faster than ever now that she was on four legs – throw her own, double-sided lance at Kali’s back as hard as she could, crying out: _“Lanzador Verde!”_

Kali abruptly backed off, dancing out of the way of the attack, then jumping back once more when the sand at her feet turned into a pillar of ice.

“Ichigo! Are you alright?” Rukia asked as she returned to his side, one hand already glowing green to treat his arms. Nel’s lance lodged itself in the sand behind them, missing the pair by a safe margin. With a flick of Nel’s wrist, the weapon tore itself free again and returned to her hand.

“ **I’m fine,”** he insisted, in spite of the rivulets of blood trailing down his arms. Still, he didn’t refuse her help. **“** **Good thing my Bankai blade got a bit bigger since I got my powers back. Would have been a lot harder to block that otherwise.”**

Both his Zanpakuto’s Shikai and Bankai forms had received some minor alterations upon regaining his powers. His coat had remained virtually identical, but _Tensa Zangetsu_ now had notably more weight to it, and was slightly broader to boot. His dexterity with the blade may have taken a bit of a hit because of that, but he was still more than capable of moving at blinding speeds and every blow he managed to land would hurt a _lot_ more now. He’d been counting on that extra power to cut through Lilith’s armor, but he doubted it would be quite as effective on her big sister...

Rukia worked as quickly as she could, managing to shrink the wounds quite a bit, but failing to close them entirely. “Damn,” she swore softly. “Her Curse works faster than I thought. That wasn’t even from direct contact.” Once she had done all she could with Kaido, she started channeling Reiatsu into the white crystal attached to her palm, instead. A blue, frosty haze replaced the green glow, and Ichigo’s eyebrows rose to his hairline when he saw tendrils of ice beginning to crawl up his arms, filling in the remaining gashes.

“It’s not exactly healing,” Rukia explained as she worked, “but it will numb the pain and keep your blood _inside_ your body. It’s really just a stopgap measure, but it’s the best I can do for now.”

Once she was finished, Ichigo tried making a fist, surprised to find that the ‘ice’ actually stretched along with his skin, not limiting his movements in any way. The cold didn’t spread out beyond the injured areas either. He was impressed to say the least, but this was hardly the time to ask Rukia about the details of how it worked.

“Oh?” Apparently, he wasn’t the only one who was impressed. “You worked out a way to counter my Curse, girl? Your martial prowess may be lacking, compared with your companions, but that is no minor feat. I have no doubt you shall grow into a great warrior one day.”

She pointed her lance directly at her and Ichigo. “Survive this battle, and I shall gladly accept your challenge when that day comes!” A high-pitched sound rung out as the lance spun ever faster, and the vortex of blue Reishi swirling around it gathered into a blinding light at its blunt tip.

Ichigo didn’t think, he _moved._ Before Rukia could do more than widen her eyes as she saw the attack coming, he put his Bankai’s absurd speed to good use by kicking her in the stomach as hard as he could and sent her flying out of the danger zone. She’d no doubt be furious at him for it later, but at least she’d be _alive_.

He twisted his body around and used his other foot to kick off against the sand, and felt searing heat and sheer agony all over his back a mere instant before he disappeared with a flicker of Shunpo.

He reappeared by Nel’s side, falling to his hands and knees from the pain – and felt his breath catch at the sight of the devastation he had left behind him.

There was still a lingering afterimage of Kali’s attack: a faint blue haze that traveled in a straight line from the tip of her lance to where Ichigo and Rukia had been not five seconds earlier, and just kept going from there.

Everywhere the blue light had touched, there was no longer sand, but red-hot, molten glass. An entire slice of desert, turned into a landscape you’d expect to find near an active volcano in an instant.

With a single, effortless attack.

“Ichigo, your back!” The panic in Nel’s voice was telling of just how bad his wound must have been. If the state of the landscape was anything to go by however, then he’d gotten lucky. The beam had barely grazed him before he Flash Stepped away; a direct hit probably would have...

He swallowed nervously when he realized how close to death he had just come. A direct hit would have turned him to charcoal, if not outright _dust_.

With a rush of displaced air, Rukia appeared. Her eyes were wide, and spittle dribbled down her chin. Ichigo instantly felt bad. He _had_ kicked her in the stomach, and pretty damn hard to boot. **“Rukia... I’m sor-”**

“Don’t you dare!” she cut him off. “Don’t you dare apologize, you reckless idiot!” Her voice nearly cracked, there. She sheathed her sword, and got to work on his back with both hands while Nel charged Kali by herself, engaging her directly.

The ‘blinding agony’ quickly faded to a much more tolerable ‘throbbing pain’. “ _I’m_ the one who should apologize. You only got hit because of me.” The blood flowing down to his chest soon trickled to a stop when he felt the cold emitted by Rukia’s Crystals closing up his injuries. “The wounds aren’t that deep, but they’re all over your back,” Rukia informed him regretfully. “And with her _Reishuken_ ‘amplifying’ the pain, I can’t even imagine how much this must have hurt. I’m so sorry, Ichigo.”

Once she was finished, he got back to his feet and instantly flicked her in the forehead. **“Don’t apologize. We’re both alive, that’s all that matters.”** Looking down at himself, it quickly became apparent that there wasn’t much left of his coat. He tugged at the remaining scraps of fabric, and let them fall to the ground.

A hum of Sonido heralded Nel’s return. Her lance had noticeable scratches on it, and her hands as well as her left foreleg were bleeding, but she seemed fine otherwise. “She’s too strong,” Nel admitted, looking more than a little distraught. “She’s been toying with us this whole time. I see no way for us to win.”

Ichigo exhaled through his nose. The Goddess was once again marching toward them. **“We don’t have to** _ **win**_ **,”** he said, trying to make his voice firm and encouraging. **“We just have to stay alive, and keep her busy until Urahara sends reinforcements. It can’t be much longer now.”**

He hoped.

“Is that all, Kurosaki Ichigo?” Kali wasn’t smiling anymore. Ichigo found that rather disconcerting, considering the joyous expression on her face hadn’t diminished even when Nel had tried to gore her from behind.

“It does not happen often that my brother is mistaken. He saw something in you, something that could threaten his machinations.” She looked at him as if she was trying to see right through him, trying to find that ‘something’ Samael had apparently seen. “Perhaps even something that scared him. That was why I agreed to play along with this little deception of his. But as usual, his plans have worked out _too_ well.”

The lance stopped spinning. “Either he overestimated you, or whatever potential he saw in you has not yet had time to develop. Either way, I suppose I shall never find out.”

She lowered the lance, and bared the open palm of her other hand at them instead. “Disappointing.” Her Reiatsu spiked, and energy accumulated within her palm: more, and more, _and more still_ , an ever-growing sphere of deepest darkness, ringed with just a hint of blue, that stood out to even Ichigo’s underdeveloped Reiatsu Sense like a miniature sun and blotted out everything else.

Ichigo knew it had to be a Cero. Yet at the same time it didn’t feel like one. It felt like something _more;_ something ancient and deadly, and entirely beyond his comprehension.

“W- what is that?” Rukia asked, voice barely loud enough to be a whisper. “I can’t... I can’t sense it.”

“Neither can I,” Nel added, equally quiet.

Ichigo could. Not well enough to understand it, but well enough to know that if that... _thing,_ was unleashed, it wouldn’t simply kill them, but utterly _erase_ them, and leave a scar upon Hueco Mundo itself that would likely never heal.

He had to stop it. And he had only one way of doing so: by breaking the one restriction Shiro had ever placed upon him, and invoking his incomplete, unstable Resurrección while simultaneously keeping Bankai active. It would grant him power far beyond the mere sum of the two, but that power would come at a price.

Soul Suicide.

That was what would await him if he let the imbalance between his Hollow and Shinigami aspects get too out of control. Even so, probable death for himself still beat out guaranteed death for all three of them by a rather large margin. In Ichigo’s mind, it wasn’t even a choice.

He could hear both his Zanpakuto Spirits freaking out (one remaining more dignified than the other) once he started to dredge up more Hollow Reiatsu from his core, but refused to heed them with Nel and Rukia’s lives on the line. His skin paled, his Mask grew heavier, and a hole started to form in the center of his chest.

He had to grind his teeth at what felt like hairline fractures spreading throughout the very foundation of his being as he pushed himself past his limits. There was no time to waste.

Before the transformation was even complete, Ichigo was already rushing forward with a _Getsuga_ coating his blade, moving faster than he ever had before. The distance between himself and Kali melted away in an instant, and her eyes widened dramatically as he approached.

But her surprise wasn’t because of him.

“Hado number 88,” a voice spoke. A familiar, female voice. Ichigo looked to the side, let out a panicked **‘Oh, _shit!_ ’**, and quickly changed course before he became caught in the fallout.

“ _Hiryū Gekizoku Shinten Raihō.”_

Kali could do nothing but watch as the bolt of crackling lightning and searing hot plasma came at her. The technique she had invoked, the _Cero Sagrado_ that had been granted to her by her master, was powerful enough to kill even her should she lose control of it.

So she did the only thing she could, and allowed the blast to hit her head-on.

Ichigo skidded along the sand for nearly a hundred meters before he could put a stop to his own momentum. By then, Kali had already been engulfed in a massive, fiery explosion. Even a Kido that powerful could not block out the otherworldly power of that Cero however.

Before it could backfire on her, Kali released it, and all Ichigo could think of was how _completely_ and _utterly fucked they all were._

Color inverted.

All sound was muted.

The world became like a freeze-frame image taken through a negative-color filter as a massive beam of pure white light erased a part of Hueco Mundo for good, in absolute silence.

The beam shrunk, inverting back to black just before it fizzled out completely, and left a massive ravine behind that went straight down into the Forest of Menos. Ichigo only realized he could hear again when he picked up the heavy rushing sound of massive quantities of sand pouring down into the Forest through the newly-created wound in the world.

He sunk to one knee, panting as he let up on channeling his Hollow Reiatsu, and aborted his transformation before he did any more damage to himself. The Hole in his chest neatly closed back up and his skin, except for his arms, regained its normal coloration.

He hadn’t even fully invoked the forbidden power, yet already he was overcome by bone-deep exhaustion and aches all over his body.

“ _ **King?”**_ Shiro spoke up from within his Inner World, _ **“Usually I’d be all for chargin’ in guns blazin**_ _ **g**_ _ **, but that right there? That was fuckin**_ _ **g**_ _ **stupid.”**_

The Old Man didn’t weigh in with a verbal reprimand of his own, but he didn’t need to: Ichigo could _feel_ his reproval and disappointment.

“That was reckless, Kurosaki-san,” a third person chimed in. It was a woman, a rather tall woman at that, with silver hair and a Lieutenant’s badge attached to her upper arm. “Don’t worry,” she said with a kind smile. “Urahara-san called for us. We’re here to help.”

“You!” With another swing of her lance, Kali blew away the lingering smoke of the explosion. Her armor was damaged in several places and still smoking, but if the sheer, boundless _joy_ in her expression was any indication, she didn’t seem to mind. “At last we meet again, Unohana Yachiru!”

Captain Unohana smiled back. It wasn’t a nice smile. She lowered her hand, still sparking with residual electricity, and let it rest on the pommel of her sword. “Kali,” she returned the greeting, with a voice that sent shivers down Ichigo’s spine.

Her long, dark hair wasn’t in her usual braid, hanging limply down her back instead. There was a scar at the base of her neck, right between her collarbones that Ichigo had never noticed before. 

The scrape of a blade being drawn rang through the air.

“It has been over a thousand years since we met on the field of battle,” Unohana continued, still speaking in that low, disturbing tone, “and in all that time, I have faced but one man who brought me joy as you did.” She held her unusually long Zanpakuto horizontally in front of her, grabbing the tip of the blade with her other hand. “Let us continue where we left off, so long ago.”

“Bankai.”

Her blade turned to liquid. She stretched it out between her fingers as pitch-black, boiling tar flowed out of the sword, staining the sand at her feet like ink on paper. Her Reiatsu, usually so tightly contained, was fully unleashed, and the black tar rushed back upward from the sand in response, curling around her body like a shroud of liquid shadow.

Her long black hair whipped about in the dark current, every strand seeming to have a mind of its own as they snapped at the air like a nest of vipers. Intimidating as all that was, it _paled_ in comparison to the look on her face.

Ichigo had always thought of Squad 4’s Captain as ‘motherly’. Right now, all he could think when he looked at her, was ‘ _Monster’._

The First Kenpachi, Unohana Yachiru, _smiled_.

“ _Minazuki [All Things’ End].”  
_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I’d just like to state for the record that Unohana showing up here was completely unplanned and I have no control over this story anymore whatsoever. Also, the questionable lines and innuendo surrounding Kali’s lance? I swear that started purely by accident, but once I noticed the theme, I may have, sort of, doubled down. If you want a better idea of what it looks like, it's very similar to [Selvaria's Lance](http://img.jeuxvideo.fr/01285968-photo-valkyria-chronicles.jpg) from Valkyria Chronicles.
> 
> Speaking of inappropriate humor, I recently uploaded another fic for My Hero Academia. I think I’ve already proven with Haven that I’m incapable of writing serious scenes without injecting some lighthearted humor at some point, but even so, I’ve actually had to restrain myself quite a bit.
> 
> I don’t restrain myself whatsoever in Switch. If you laughed at my attempts at being funny in this story, are a fan of BNHA, or both, then by all means, go check it out!


	26. Chapter 26

### Chapter 25: The Edge of Reason

A giant wall of red loomed before the trio; the final obstacle on their path to the throne room and the darkness gathering within.

Yoruichi experimentally tapped the barrier with one of her Anti-Acero Gauntlets - an upgraded version of the equipment she had used against Aizen"s Chrysalis Form during the final stages of the Winter War. In response, the substance rippled briefly, and the incomprehensible sigils floating around within the membrane itself fluttered about agitatedly like countless little butterflies before becoming still once more. She hummed to herself in consideration, tapping her armored boot against the stone floor. Then, she planted said boot firmly on the ground, reared back her fist, and hit the barrier as hard as she could.

Chad and Uryu steadied themselves against the white marble walls as the ground trembled in the wake of her attack. Some dust rained down from the ceiling, and Uryu was quick to pat himself down from head to toe, while Chad just fussed with his hair to get the worst of it out.

A sizeable crack had appeared in the red barrier, but it mended again just as quickly as it had come, putting them right back at square one.

"You know," Yoruichi started irritably as she withdrew her fist, "this was _supposed_ to be a stealth mission. At this point, it really doesn't feel like one anymore."

On the other side of the transparent barrier, two dark, floating figures were watching them impassively. The pair was covered from head to do in white, billowing robes with the hoods drawn up. It was impossible to even tell what gender they were.

It was not the first time the trio had come in contact with the peculiar beings. It _was_ however, the first time that the creatures had purposely blocked them from reaching the source of the spatial anomaly – the throne room, where Angra Mainyu was currently attempting to cross back over the boundary between the Dangai and Hueco Mundo.

Making their way into the Hollow Lord's stronghold had actually been quite easy. Disturbingly so, in fact. Once Urahara's scanners had picked up the signal, it had led them directly here – to a large fortress carved out of the side of a mountain.

A mountain that just so happened to be partially underground; it had its base at the lower levels of the Menos Forest, and its peak jutted up through the layer of sand above so that anyone looking at it from the desert up top just saw a big, jagged piece of white rock.

There also happened to be a massive crevasse right next to the base of the mountain that may have _actually_ been bottomless.

Hueco Mundo's topography was... disturbing, to say the least.

The trio had quite literally walked in through the front door. There had been no guards whatsoever, and the only living beings they encountered on their trek through the fortress were the silent, robe-clad Hollows. All they had done was block them from advancing deeper into the fortress with more of those blood red walls, and until now that had not been a problem (even if it was just plain creepy), since the paths they blocked didn't seem to lead to the source of the anomaly, anyhow.

Yoruichi had been certain they were being led into a trap, but now they were actually close enough to their goal to physically feel the discomforting effect of space being twisted, and _this_ was where the creatures had decided to start being obstinate.

"Do you believe Angra Mainyu has already manifested?" Uryu asked, staring intently at the heavy double doors the two creatures were guarding.

"No," Yoruichi instantly shot him down, shaking her head. "If it had, then believe me: we'd know."

"Still, I don't think we have a lot of time left," Chad added his own two cents. Being a Fullbringer, he was a lot more sensitive to anything Hollow-related than the other two. The sense of dread that had been nagging at him ever since they set foot in Hueco Mundo had never felt more pressing than now.

"So we can't afford to try and find another way in," Yoruichi finished his thought. "Meaning our only real option is to force our way through."

Uryu didn't need to be told twice. "I was getting tired of being led around by the nose, anyhow," he stated, and pulled two _Pantzerbrechers_ from the quiver on his back. Chad and Yoruichi fled at the mere sight of them and hid behind the nearest corner.

Judging by the movement of their cowls, the two creatures shared a look before raising their arms in unison, a red glow emanating from their pale white hands. The barrier brightened in response and became even sturdier than before, the sigils within flitting about maddeningly quick.

Uryu notched his first arrow, loosed it, and watched it pierce straight through the red wall as if it wasn't even there, leaving behind a barely noticeable hole. It hit one of the creatures directly in the chest, ripped it apart from head to do in a burst of bright blue fire, before finally lodging itself into the heavy stone doors behind it where it blasted huge chunks of rock loose.

The other creature watched its fallen companion's empty robe flutter to the ground. It took one more look at Uryu, saw him notching the second _Pantzerbrecher_ , and promptly spun around and lunged for the door.

Needless to say, it didn't quite make it.

Yoruichi and Chad joined him again as soon as he lowered his bow, and together the trio watched as the barrier dimmed, briefly turning the color of dried blood, before shattering like glass.

"Shall we?" Uryu asked calmly, and the other two hurried to push the heavy doors open. The entire fortress seemed to rumble as they pushed the massive doors, and Uryu was convinced every single Hollow in a mile radius would be coming down on them, attracted by the noise.

… That is, if there even were any left, aside from the strange, robed creatures. From the Reiatsu they had picked up around the Seal, half the Hollow population of _Hueco Mundo_ seemed to have gathered there.

Uryu raised his bow again, ready to face whatever it was they would find in the throne room... and immediately wished he could have just fought every regular Hollow in Hueco Mundo, instead.

"You have arrived sooner than I expected," Samael intoned, floating protectively in front of a large array consisting of countless incomprehensible symbols, all drawn in blood. Uryu absently noted his mouth didn't move when he spoke.

"I had hoped my Blood Mages would be able to keep you occupied a little while longer. My master is not yet present, you see."

In the center of the array was what appeared to be a crack in space itself. A mass of horrible, twisting shadows was visible on the other side. Even as the trio watched, that crack spread out a little more, and the odd, barely perceptible sound of countless voices muttering in unison became just slightly louder.

Samael spread his arms wide as if to welcome them, and blood sprayed out from large gashes on both his wrists. The blood coalesced into thin streams that began to swirl around his body, glowing with an ominous light.

"Won't you kindly stay until he arrives?"

* * *

At first, Ichigo had felt somewhat apprehensive of this darker, much more openly violent version of Captain Unohana.

He didn't feel that way anymore, not after watching her and Kali fight for the past ten or so minutes. Oh no, he was _way_ past apprehension at this point.

Ichigo didn't even care that he himself was now capable of transforming into a hulking, armored demon from people's deepest, darkest nightmares; with talons for fingers, spikes on his shoulders and the ability to fire some _incredibly_ destructive death rays from his fingertips.

He was not, repeat _not,_ for any reason, getting involved in the battle currently taking place before his eyes.

Not just because Captain Unohana's Bankai seemed to dissolve everything that came anywhere near her, or even because Kali could alter the landscape with nothing but a casual swing of her lance.

It was mostly because he didn't think _either_ of the two most terrifying women he'd ever laid eyes on would appreciate him butting in on their fight, and Unohana genuinely seemed just as likely to kill him for it right now as Kali did.

Which was why he, Rukia and Nel sort of awkwardly stood on the sidelines, trying their hardest not to flinch when a thick glob of _Minazuki's_ boiling black tar landed a tad too close for comfort, and proceeded to melt straight through the sand until it dripped down into the Forest of Menos below.

Lieutenant Isane just smiled at them - part apologetic, part exasperated – as she continued her work infusing each member of the trio with her Reiatsu.

Orihime hadn't been the only one whose sensibilities as a healer had been offended by a Curse that rendered her abilities moot. Captain Unohana and her Lieutenant had been every bit as irked when they were forced to watch Kali's victims die of wounds that _should_ have been easily treatable, and refused to tolerate such an insult to their pride. After several restless nights wherein the pair had ingested enough caffeine between them to kill a decently-sized elephant and (ab)used their Kaido to stave off the effects of exhaustion, the pair had hit a breakthrough.

"We can't stay here for long," Isane explained as she worked, "we really need to get to the Seal and try and get the situation there back under control, but this should help you deal with her Curse." She cut off the energy flow, and Ichigo felt the last dregs of it settling into the upper layers of his skin. It felt like being covered in an invisible, protective membrane.

"However," Isane warned, "this won't be enough to protect you completely from something like-" halfway through her sentence, Kali swung her Valkyrian Lance and unleashed another blue vortex that erased a slice of desert. Unohana sidestepped the worst of it, with only her Captain's Haori taking any real damage, and took advantage of Kali overextending herself to carve the giantess' chest open once more, leaving behind a jagged, diagonal slice that steadily grew wider as the acid ate away at the surrounding flesh.

"...something like that," Isane finished hollowly, firmly ignoring her desire to curl up into a ball and hide behind a dune until things stopped exploding. She took a moment to gather herself, slapping her own cheeks to force herself to focus and woman up.

It didn't matter that she felt like the only regular person amid this gathering of heavy hitters and outright monsters. She was a Shinigami, and she _would_ do her duty.

Muttering a quick, abbreviated incantation, she cast _Shakkaho_ and let the fireball detonate in midair, bathing their surroundings in red light. Upon noticing the improvised signal flre, Unohana began to back away from Kali, switching to a more defensive fighting style.

"You're up again, Kurosaki-san," Isane warned, a steely glint in her eyes. "If we want to stand any chance of making it out of Hueco Mundo alive, we'll need you to keep the Goddess occupied."

Another explosion caused by some high-level Kido engulfed Kali, and the very next moment Unohana appeared next to the group in a flicker of Shunpo, her loose hair whipping about from the air displacement. "We will now move on to the Seal to assist Captain Kuchiki," Unohana spoke without preamble. "Kurosaki-san, I would ask you to cover our retreat. Kali will not allow us to leave unchallenged."

"Got it," Ichigo acknowledged, readying _Tensa Zangetsu._ He hadn't just been standing around with his thumb up his ass this entire time – Ichigo had a plan. "Thanks for helping us, Unohana-san, Kotetsu-san."

Unohana smiled again in response to his statement, and Ichigo barely managed to suppress an involuntary shudder. "Oh no," Unohana said in that deep, nightmare-inducing tone of voice. "The pleasure was all mine, Kurosaki-san."

On that disturbing note, she sheathed _Minazuki_ and launched herself in the direction of the main Shinigami army at top speed, Isane struggling to keep up with her.

Immediately afterward, Kali emerged from the burning haze of Unohana's spell and went in pursuit of her opponent, heedless of the fact that the attack had managed to set her on fire.

Truly, nothing seemed to give her pause. Much like Aizen had been when he had entered his Chrysalis stage, Kali was so much stronger than any of them that she could afford to be reckless – charging her opponents head on and occasionally not even bothering to evade their attacks.

And just like Urahara had done then, Ichigo intended to take full advantage of that recklessness.

As expected, Kali ignored the three of them completely and went straight for Unohana. It was child's play then, for Ichigo to approach from her blind spot by using his Bankai's absurd speed, and swipe his blade at the back of her neck.

Far swifter than you might expect from someone her size, Kali spun around mid-stride and brought up her lance to block, dispersing his inky black Getsuga with the lance's churning winds.

"Don't interfere, child," Kali admonished him over the grinding of their weapons. "I shall return to finish you once I've had my fill."

Ichigo smiled dangerously from behind his mask. **"Sorry, but you're gonna have to make do with me,"** he told her... and dismissed his Bankai.

Being a compression type, _Tensa Zangetsu_ had a truly vast amount of Reishi packed into a relatively small weapon. A vast amount of energy that, when released in such an abrupt manner, could be used to truly devastating ends.

Even Ichigo was surprised to find out just _how_ densely his Reishi had been compressed.

A jet black plume of inky darkness burst from the sword like a blowtorch flame, overpowering and ripping apart the shrieking gale surrounding Kali's lance before sending the Goddess herself reeling backwards from the sheer force. It took her several crucial moments to get her feet back under her, and by the time she did, Nel's own lance was already sailing through the air and had bored deep into her back before she had the time to move.

Their assault didn't end there, as while Kali was still staggering from the previous two attacks, Rukia's ice surged along the sand, directly toward her, and massive, jagged sheets of ice sprouted like frozen lotus petals, digging their sharp points into the Goddess' side.

Blood dripped down the icy petals.

Kali groaned as she tore herself free, then gasped when Nel recalled her lance and the weapon brutally dislodged itself from her back. She sank to one knee, and even though Ichigo knew that it was a physical impossibility considering they were on a layer of sand suspended above the Menos Forest, he swore he felt the earth itself quake and rumble when the Goddess fell.

Ichigo marched up to her. Liquid began to trail down his arms and legs, and his hair lengthened rapidly until it fell past his shoulders. By the time he had reached Kali, he was fully encased in armor, and he could already feel his Regeneration working to undo the damage he'd inflicted upon himself through his earlier recklessness.

Slowly, she raised her head, and her eyes wandered across his pale, monstrous form with something close to awe.

Their eyes met, and she smiled. _"Magnificent."_

Quick as lightning, her arm whipped out, and without Bankai Ichigo was just barely fast enough to deflect the lance coming at him.

Fighting her was more doable this time, Ichigo found. With his armor weathering the worst of those eroding winds, and Isane-san's Kaido-based protection staving off what _did_ manage to get through, the battle felt far more evenly-matched than before.

There were a couple more close calls involving that laser-like attack she fired from the tip of her lance, but aside from that, Ichigo felt... well, not exactly confident, but less hopelessly outmatched, at least.

The battle had become one of endurance. Countless blows were exchanged between them, at a pace and intensity that reminded Ichigo of his very first battle with Kenpachi.

By the time the four combatants all fell back to catch their breath, Kali was bleeding heavily, her armor having already been severely damaged by Unohana's Bankai, but even so she showed no signs of slowing down.

Ichigo was faring better by comparison, but only because he had managed to avoid incurring any direct hits so far. There were a few pieces of armor, mainly on his arms, that had been eroded away over the course of the battle, though fortunately he had not yet sustained any actual bodily harm since Unohana's departure.

His companions, however... neither of them were suited to prolonged combat, nor did they have Ichigo's full-body armor to protect them, and Isane's protective spell could only do so much.

Nel's energy stores had gotten significantly smaller ever since Nnoitra cracked her head open, and she grew tired much more quickly to boot. And as for Rukia, in spite of her ingenuity and talent with Kido, she simply did not have the raw power that he, Nel and Kali possessed.

With that in mind, it came as no surprise when Ichigo found them both tiring, with Nelliel barely hanging on to her Resurrección, and Rukia expending what little energy she had left using the icy aura emitted by her crystals to close her own and Nel's numerous wounds.

Without them fighting by his side, Ichigo knew it was only a matter of time before the Goddess, injured or not, managed to overwhelm him.

The only silver lining, if it could even be called as such, was that now that both Nel and Rukia were keeping their distance while they recuperated, Ichigo was free to use some of his more... indiscriminate abilities.

Taking a page out of Shiro's book, he let his sword slip through his fingers until he was holding not the grip itself, but the cloth wrapped around it, and began whirling the cleaver around, faster and faster, until it appeared as a solid black disk to the naked eye. No sooner has he picked up enough speed than Kali was barrelling toward him once more, swinging her absurd, oversized weapon around like it weighed nothing at all.

Ichigo decides he is in no mood to have more pieces of himself torn away by her razor winds, and throws his improvised flail at her as hard as he can, satisfied when the deadly black disk slams into her lance and brings her to a halt. Then, he gives a sharp tug on the cloth, and the sword sails back toward its wielder... but not before it unleashes a circular, omni-directional Getsuga Tenshou that leaves a perfectly straight gouge from Kali's navel all the way up to the crown of her bald head.

She stumbles back, momentarily blinded, but then she shakes her head, meets Ichigo's eyes... and smiles exuberantly.

Ichigo was having a hard time deciding whether he should be annoyed or terrified by how much fun she appeared to be having.

"Ichigo."

With a rush of air, Rukia appears by his side. Despite the many white patches of frost littering her body that are preventing her from bleeding out, sweat is nonetheless pouring down her face. She's panting harshly, and _Sode no Shirayuki_ trembles in her grasp. Even so, her eyes are filled with determination.

"I have an idea," she said. "I've never tried it before, but if I were to cast a Bakudo spell while using my crystals to reinforce it, it should be able to hold even her for a while. Long enough for you and Nel to finish her off."

Ichigo instantly sees the many flaws attached to that plan, but settles for mentioning only the most pressing one. **"Rukia, you're exhausted. Even if you manage to cast the spell at all, there's no way it will-** _ **crap!"**_ Before she can protest, Ichigo scoops Rukia up into his arms, careful not to bring her face anywhere near the spikes on his shoulders, and carries her away with Sonido before Kali's Blue Beam of Death can atomize them both.

"Enough, girl," Kali intoned sternly when they came to a halt. At this point, none of them even bothered looking back at the devastation left behind in the wake of her attack. After the _Cero Sagrado, t_ hey're all pretty much maxed out on awe and terror.

"You fought well, but you have clearly reached your limit. From this point forward, you will only get in the way." As if to prove her point, Kali focuses her immense Reiatsu on Rukia, and if Ichigo hadn't already been holding her up, her knees would have buckled under the force. "Do not throw away your life meaninglessly."

Wrenching her way out of Ichigo's arms, Rukia angrily staggers towards Kali, hissing, "If you think I'm going to listen to-!" She cuts herself off when Ichigo wraps his hand around her upper arm, taking great care not to accidentally cut her with his talons.

" **You can't fight anymore,"** he insisted, and no matter how outraged she looked in that moment, Ichigo knew he was right, and wasn't about to back down. **"And neither can Nel. I don't think she can even move at this point."** He realizes that guilt-tripping her like this is a cheap shot, but if it would get her and Nel safely away from Kali and her many varied methods of inflicting instant death, then Ichigo was perfectly fine with that.

She glanced over to where Nel was barely managing to stay upright on four shaking legs, and Ichigo could see the exact moment she made her decision. She grimaced. "Damn you, Ichigo," she muttered under her breath as she wrenched her arm loose. "...Don't die." With those parting words, she disappeared, leaving Ichigo to face the Goddess by himself.

"Now then..." The familiar grinding rang through the air once more as Kali brought up her lance, and Ichigo braced himself. "Let us bring our dance to a close," she whispered, and attacked.

It was odd. Somewhere along the line, after his chest armor had shattered and he'd lost his tail to yet another beam of that all-powerful blue light, Ichigo had realized he probably wouldn't be walking away from this battle.

He wasn't sure why, but he felt a strange sense of calm come over him. Whatever madness had befallen him seemed to be affecting his opponent as well: Kali had fallen silent, and instead of a grin, there was a gentle, almost reverent expression on her face as they exchanged blows.

It really did feel like a dance, he realized as he recalled her earlier words, watching the lance miss his head by inches when he bent over backwards. The cyclone surrounding the weapon nonetheless still tore away a chunk of his mask, and the cool desert air prickled his bare cheek.

He retaliated with a Cero, and Kali gracefully leapt out of the way with what his increasingly fogged-up mind could have sworn was a pirouette, then made a horizontal sweep with her weapon that sent him flying backwards once the resulting gale hit.

Ichigo landed on his back in the sand, and found himself unable to get back up. He had stopped feeling pain at some point, so it was only when blood dripped into one of his eyes and tinged his vision with red that he realized that it was probably because he was too badly injured to do so.

"It is done."

Kali's footsteps were sounding closer and closer, yet Ichigo kept his gaze fixed on the pale moon hanging overhead. It wasn't long before her massive, pitch-black frame filled his vision.

"You were a worthy opponent, Kurosaki Ichigo. I shall remember this battle." She adjusted her grip on the lance before raising it overhead, where it started spinning faster than ever before, coating the entire length of the weapon in a dark blue, swirling vortex.

"Farewell," she said, and brought the Lance down.

" _Tsugi no Mai: Hakuren!"_

Just before the Relic could pierce Ichigo's chest, a wave of biting cold passed over him and Kali both that left every part of his would-be executioner encased in ice,save for her head and the Lance itself. For the first time, Kali actually seemed angry.

"You would insist on interfering even now? So be it." The ice encasing her body cracked as she turned her head to look at Rukia, who let the tip of her sword sink to the ground, her arms too weak to hold it up any longer.

Any calm Ichigo had felt earlier was instantly replaced by sheer, blinding panic. Gritting his teeth at the debilitating pain that had hit him all at once as soon as he snapped out of the trance-like state, Ichigo forced his broken body to move.

"I take no joy in snuffing out a life with such potential... but you have tested my patience for the last time!" In a single movement, Kali shattered the block of ice all at once and aimed her weapon at Rukia. _"Begone!"_

He couldn't get up.

That high-pitched noise that heralded one of Kali's beam attacks was grating against his ears _and he couldn't get up._

He dug his claws into the sand, trying to bodily _drag_ himself forward but he _wasn't moving! Why wasn't he moving?!_

Desperate, animalistic sounds emerged from his throat but he _STILL. WASN'T. MOVING!_

He looked up, and met Rukia's eyes. The blue light emitted by Kali's lance was reflected in them.

She smiled.

" _Goodbye, Ichigo."_

He screamed. It was an ungodly sound powered by rage, terror and grief, and just when he thought his vocal cords would give out, something deep inside of him _snapped._

Massive skyscrapers burst out from the sands surrounding them, rising upward to tower over everyone present. Old man Zangetsu was standing on the side of one of them, somehow not getting pulled down by gravity as he stoically watched the events below unfold.

Shiro was already rushing down the side of another building, desperately trying to reach Ichigo.

Rukia was still looking at him, smiling that same, sad smile. She wasn't moving. Neither was Kali. Only the Lance, ever so slowly, continued to revolve around its own axis.

Ichigo barely even noticed any of it. It was only later that he would understand; that the thought of Rukia dying was something his mind would never be able to accept, and that it had simply broken instead, and broken down the barrier between his Inner World and Reality along with it.

" **King!"**

Ichigo absently realized that he had never seen his inner Hollow look terrified before.

Zangetsu dug his fingers into Ichigo's biceps. Ichigo still couldn't tear his eyes away from Rukia's face, but Zangetsu forcibly interposed his own pale face between the sight of Rukia smiling as she saw her death approaching.

" **Listen to me!"** the Zanpakuto Spirit pleaded desperately. It was also the first time he had heard his Hollow beg. " **What is that you want to – no, that you HAVE to do, right now?! What is every single fiber of your being calling out for you to do?! If you strip away everything else, what instinct remains?!"**

Zangetsu swallowed, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down. The Lance was still spinning, agonizingly slowly.

" **Ichigo, at the very core of your being, _what are you?!"_**

That was when it clicked. The final piece of the puzzle, falling into place.

Ichigo blinked, and Zangetsu was gone. In his place was his Bankai blade, standing upright, lodged in the white sand. It was black as night, razor sharp, and perhaps slightly broader and heavier than he was used to, but undeniably _his._

His inner strength given form, so that he may use it to enact his strongest desire; so that he may fulfill his purpose.

Ichigo reached out, and gripped it tight.

" ** _Protect, Tensa Zangetsu!_**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: We're finally reaching the climax of this arc, and I'm starting to get a clearer picture of exactly how many chapters are still left to go before we reach the end of the story. Mind you, it's still just an estimation at this point, but I really don't think there will be more than 40, and it might actually end up being a bit less than that.
> 
> There's a lot that's going to happen in the next few chapters, including some stuff many of you have been waiting for for a long time. The next chapter in particular is one I'd been dying to write for ages, and I actually cranked the whole thing out in a single day since I just couldn't bring myself to stop until it was finished.
> 
> I hope I did a decent job with this chapter, especially the last few paragraphs. Please let me know what you think!


	27. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I apologize for being a day late with updating; I got home really late yesterday and simply did not have the energy to edit this 6.7K word monster. I've been looking forward to this chapter for a long time now, so I hope it meets expectations. Just one thing I feel I should mention: I never give out specific warnings beforehand since I consider them to be spoilers, but this chapter gets pretty intense. Basically, be ready for anything.
> 
> Enjoy!

### Chapter 26: The King's Roar

Grimmjow could clearly recall the exact moment where it had all gone to shit.

Using his Shikai under those circumstances had been an extremely reckless move, one born out of both necessity and a desire to finish the fight as quickly as possible, yet even now Grimmjow couldn't say that it had been the wrong choice. If he hadn't severed Hyperion's arm then, they might _still_ have been tiptoeing around each other, while for all they knew Ichigo could already be…

No. Now was not the time to think about that.

Still trembling from head to toe, Grimmjow slowly pushed his torso up and off the ground, feeling the sand crunch between his fingers as they tightened into claws. The electrical burns on his scalp, neck and back slowly faded away under the influence of Orihime's _Souten Kisshun_ , yet left a dull, throbbing pain in their wake that refused to go away.

No matter how incredible Orihime's powers may have been, they could only repair the physical. Grimmjow's mind on the other hand clearly remembered the pain of every single lightning strike. He had been struck more times than he cared to count, and the constant, repetitive injuries were starting to take their toll.

He could no longer divert the attacks. Grimmjow wasn't sure of how it worked exactly, but from the moment Hyperion's giant claws had broken through his armor and injected him with his Reiatsu, Grimmjow's control had been shot to hell. Manipulating his Reiatsu output was no longer possible. Not only that, but any innate, passive resistance his Reiatsu may have once offered him had now disappeared, as well.

Excepting those times where Orihime's Santen Kesshun had managed to intercept the attacks, every single one had hit its mark, and each had left him reeling for several precious seconds afterward, thus allowing Hyperion to get another free hit in and spread his Curse even further.

A gash on his calf had left him unable to use Sonido. Another swipe of claws across his bicep had prevented him from shifting between his Shikai's _Fang_ and _Claw_ forms. When Grimmjow had tried blasting him with a Cero in a fit of sheer frustration, the gathering energy had lost coherence and blown up in his face, instead.

One by one, all of Grimmjow's weapons were being taken away from him.

The Visored approached once more, and Orihime materialized directly in front of Grimmjow in a blur of orange, summoning her shield just in the nick of time before Hyperion could tear both of them to bloody strips. She ground her teeth, pouring every bit of willpower she had into her Santen Kesshun, and even though the barrier shattered, it succeeded in keeping their opponent at bay.

In the next instant, Tsubaki shot forward and made another swipe at Hyperion's newly-grown, bare arm, thus forcing him to back off before he needed to regrow said arm once more _._

Even if the battle had shifted heavily in Hyperion's favor, Grimmjow had by no means made it a painless process for him, either.

By the time his Shikai had gotten stuck in its _Claw_ configuration, he had already used Byakko's _Fang_ several times to great effect, and removed more than one aspect of Hyperion's unusual anatomy with the wickedly sharp blade. Every piece he cut off grew back infuriatingly quick, but at least when it came back it did so without any of that pesky _Acero_ armor covering it.

Orihime had mostly focused on keeping them both alive, but she too had gotten a lucky hit in with Tsubaki and severed Hyperion's remaining wing.

While he had tried to regenerate those as well, Hyperion had been forced to give up halfway through when he realized just how low his energy stores were getting, and had settled for just a single, skeletal wing covered with just enough muscle tissue to allow it to move.

With Tsubaki keeping their adversary occupied, Orihime didn't hesitate to throw Grimmjow's arm over her shoulder and pulled him back to his feet.

" **It's over, Arrancar!"** Hyperion called out, vainly making swatting motions at the fairy. **"You can't fight anymore! Pretty soon even that girl's powers won't be able to put your body back together!"** From the way he spoke, Hyperion seemed to think his victory was already assured, yet he too was running on fumes. Half his armor was destroyed, and rain had started to fall on the outer edges of the roiling blanket of thunderclouds he had summoned now that he had grown too weak to retain all that moisture.

It may have been the first time ever Hueco Mundo had seen rain.

" **Yet I can see that you're determined... to be a nuisance right until the end,"** Hyperion continued, panting. **"So allow me... to put you out of your misery."**

He raised his asymmetrical hands up toward the sky, and a purple aura enveloped his entire body as his Reiatsu output spiked. Grimmjow braced himself, and three of Orihime's fairies began circling them protectively, but the attack never came.

Instead, a massive, bright red pillar of energy was lighting up the night sky to the west; directly in the direction Ichigo's group had gone.

Grimmjow could feel his arm sliding off Orihime's shoulder even as she slowly raised her own to cup her mouth in horror. Hyperion lowered his hands again, slowly turning his head to look behind him. All three of them stood in awe of the sight, and before long, a wave of incredibly potent Reiatsu – _Ichigo's Reiatsu –_ washed over them all. At least, Grimmjow _thought_ it was Ichigo's Reiatsu. Ichigo had always seemed like a bottomless well of Spirit Energy, but this was just... _insane_.

"This is just like..." Orihime started, her nails digging into her face, "like that time when..."

"Like when he fought Ulquiorra," Grimmjow finished for her, feeling like the ground had just disappeared from underneath his feet. It had taken Ichigo literally _dying_ to unleash that kind of power in his fight with Ulquiorra. Was that what had happened? Had Kali killed him, and somehow allowed his inner Hollow – allowed _Shiro_ _-_ to take over?

" **That kid's just full of surprises, isn't he?"** Hyperion interrupted Grimmjow's frantic thoughts. Honestly, Grimmjow had almost forgotten he was still here. " **With that kind of power, he might even..."** he trailed off, before chuckling and shaking his head. **"No point in wondering, I suppose. I'm sure Samael will force me to deal with it soon enough."** He locked eyes with Grimmjow, and raised his hands once more. Purple arcs of electricity traveled up and down his body, before discharging into the clouds above. **"As for you, Arrancar..."**

A deafening roar of thunder sounded from the whirling maelstrom above as massive, crackling arcs of lightning illuminated the night sky, blinding in their intensity.

" **I'll have you die right here and now."**

Just one look upwards was enough for Grimmjow to predict exactly what was coming, and that there was painfully little he or Orihime could do to stop it. "Hime... get away from me," he ordered.

She looked at him as if he'd grown two heads. "I... _I can't!_ If that hits you, I don't know if I'll even be able to..."

Grimmjow bared his teeth in a smile that was more of a grimace. So she wasn't sure she'd be able to bring him back after this, huh? "If you die, I'm done for either way," he countered, half-yelling just to make himself audible over the furious crackling coming from above.

An ominous light shone down on the pair, and Grimmjow knew they were out of time. Cutting off any further protests she may have had, Grimmjow bodily picked her up and _flung_ her away from him as far as he could.

She screamed his name as she sailed through the air.

It was the last thing he heard before his world dissolved into a haze of blinding light and searing agony.

* * *

When he opened his eyes again, it wasn't to the sight of the desert Grimmjow had been expecting. Instead, he was met by the sight of grass. _Silver_ grass. He sat up, head swiveling around to take in the metallic vegetation surrounding him on all sides.

He was in his Inner World. It had been quite a while since he'd been dragged in here against his will. Something was clearly wrong, however: the earth at the edges of the forest clearing was split open, the pond that had once housed Byakko's embryonic form was now fully dried up, and quite a few of the mighty gray trees were blackened and burnt.

" **Conscious at last, are we?"**

Grimmjow instantly whipped around, reflexively raising one clawed hand to maim whoever had snuck up on him, only to come face to face with his Zanpakuto Spirits. They were remarkably alike, sitting side by side like that.

Pantera, with her deep blue eyes so similar to his own, covered from head to tail in bone armor; and Byakko, with his - somewhat ironic, considering his mastery of Metal - much more organic appearance. He had white fur, black stripes, and gray eyes that sometimes appeared silver when the light hit them just right.

"You two... why bring me here?" Grimmjow asked, lowering his claws. He marched up to the duo, and tried to ignore the way the metal grass shattered and crunched under his feet. "Am I dying?"

"Yes," Byakko replied, blunt and to the point as ever, "but in reverse. The girl is trying her hardest to bring you back."

" **You chose well, bringing her along,"** Pantera commented, **"but no matter how many times she unmakes your injuries, you will not be able to win. Not as you are now."** She swept her gaze across the Forest, lingering on the damage the landscape had sustained. **"You have reached your limit."**

Grimmjow clenched his fists. "So, what, that's it then?!" he snapped at the both of them, "I'm supposed to just roll over and die?!"

" **Of course not!"**

"Yes, basically."

The two felines did a simultaneous double-take, then proceeded to stare at each other in consternation.

" **Byakko, have you taken leave of your-"**

"Pantera, you know there is no way to-"

Grimmjow loudly cleared his throat. The pair broke off their argument, simultaneously snapping a very loud and indignant **"What?!"** at him. Grimmjow briefly considered asking the shopkeeper if he could borrow the magic rock and have it erase these two from his mind again.

"Are ya done?" he asked gruffly, one eyebrow raised. Tiger and panther looked at each other once more, before huffing in concert and pointedly looking in different directions. Grimmjow could feel a migraine coming on.

"I think I'm gonna listen to her," he told Byakko, who had the sheer _gall_ to look affronted. "I like her better right now."

" **As I was saying: there _is_ still a way for you to win," ** Pantera said smugly, preening. Byakko's eye twitched, and Grimmjow couldn't help but wonder whether Byakko had gotten that nervous tic from him, or if it was the other way around. **"It won't be easy, however."**

"What are you saying, woman?! You would have our King struggle in vain to the last?! Let him be butchered over and over again, only to die like an animal?! There _is_ no way to win!" Byakko roared furiously, only to suddenly find himself on his back with Pantera's claws digging into his chest and her fangs teasing his jugular.

" **I thought you better than this, but I suppose I should have expected such foolishness from the _Shinigami_ aspect," ** she growled dangerously. Her eyes were aglow with a dangerous light. **"As I said, it won't be easy... and certainly not without cost."**

Byakko went very still when her words struck home. Then, his eyes _blazed_ silver, and massive, razor-sharp leaves burst from the soil around him like stakes that tried to gore Pantera from every direction.

She jumped away, leaving bloody gouges in Byakko's chest when she ripped her claws out, and was forced to keep backing away when more murderous vegetation rose up from the ground beneath her paws as Byakko chased after her with his hackles raised.

" _ENOUGH!"_ Grimmjow bellowed, loud enough to make the very air around them vibrate, and both spirits froze instantly. "What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

While he refrained from further attempts to kill his counterpart, Byakko nonetheless kept glaring at her with an unholy fury Grimmjow had never expected from the usually aloof spirit. Byakko's Reiatsu echoed across the forest clearing, and more killer vegetation – knife-like grass, translucent silvery flowers, and iron-trunked saplings – slowly rose up from the dirt around his paws in response.

"You go too far, _Hollow,"_ Byakko ground out, a heavy growl rumbling in his throat.  "The price you speak of is far too great."

" **So you would have him die, instead?!"** she spit back, throwing her own Reiatsu into the mix and splitting open the earth around her.

"Better to die with honor than to live on as an accursed wretch – to live out the rest of his days as a miserable, empty shade!" He narrowed his eyes. "You saw what became of Ulquiorra," he hissed lowly, almost whispering the words.

" _ **ULQUIORRA FAILED!"**_ Pantera roared back – perhaps even louder than Grimmjow had – spittle flying from her maw. **"He made the bargain and lost himself entirely,** _ **BECAUSE HE WAS WEAK!**_ **"** She took a single step forward, slamming her paw down into the earth and shattering the deadly metal stakes surrounding her like they were brittle glass. Her pupils had narrowed to pinpricks. **"Do you think our king** _ **weak**_ **, Byakko?"**

They remained locked in a stalemate, neither of the two speaking, until Grimmjow broke the silence.

"What do you want me to do?" he asked Pantera, and his Hollow Aspect seemed very much satisfied by his lack of hesitation. Byakko, by contrast, grit his teeth harshly.

"You don't know what you're giving up," he pleaded, leaving Pantera where she stood and approaching Grimmjow with hurried steps. "And for what? Petty revenge?" There was desperation in his eyes now, Grimmjow saw. "Your adversary started this whole mess out of a desire for revenge, and just look what became of _him!"_

Nonetheless, his mind was made up.

"Not _just_ revenge." He and his Shinigami Aspect stared into each other's eyes, long and hard. He didn't need to say it – Byakko understood.

"The boy."

"He needs me."

Byakko tilted his head, unimpressed. " _He_ needs _you_? Is that all?"

Grimmjow clenched his fists again, sharpened nails digging into his palms. "No," he grit out from between clenched teeth. "I... I need him, too." He swallowed thickly. "I'm not letting him die."

Byakko lowered his gaze to the ground. His fur smoothed out again as his anger left him. "Then, perhaps..." he muttered, before sighing and shaking his head sadly. "Do as you wish," he told Grimmjow, and padded away, tail hanging low.

He and Pantera both halted their steps when they passed each other. They exchanged frosty looks. "Damn you, woman," Byakko told her softly, before laying down at the edge of the clearing with his head resting on his front paws.

Pantera approached Grimmjow. **"You** **ha** **ve learned many things during your stay with the humans,"** she proclaimed. **"How to ask for help, for one. How to work with others. The value of patience."** She smiled crookedly at that last one. **"What it means to care for others. What it means to love."**

She sat back on her haunches, and raised a single paw to Grimmjow's chest. One of her talons came to rest directly over his heart. A single twitch was all it would take to break the skin. Grimmjow watched her stoically, refusing to show even a hint of nervousness.

" **You've reclaimed so much of what you lost upon losing your humanity; become so strong by cultivating this thing we call a heart."**

Her Reiatsu peaked, and the bone armor covering her body cracked, blue energy beginning to pour out from the wounds like blood. She looked him in the eye, and Grimmjow was faced with two slit pupils, each surrounded by a halo of blue fire.

" _ **Now rip it out."**_

* * *

"Grimmjow, please, wake up!" Orihime pleaded, blood running freely from her nose due to the mental strain of commanding all of her fairies simultaneously for so long. Another thunderbolt dispersed against her shield, and she just barely managed to prevent it from breaking under the strain.

Tsubaki continued his harassment of Hyperion, continually shifting between his Arrow and Spear forms and somehow, miraculously, evading the Visored's grasping hands.

If her shield broke, she was done for. She was already using _Souten Kisshun_ to restore Grimmjow's body, so _phasing_ out of the way of danger was not an option until she had finished healing him.

She tried her best to erase the mental image of the blackened, scorched _but somehow still breathing_ body she had found in the wake of Hyperion's 'finisher', but knew that it was pointless. The sight would likely stay with her for the rest of her life.

As bad as the damage Grimmjow had sustained was, Orihime knew she herself would have been turned to charcoal had she been anywhere near it. Grimmjow had made the right call in throwing her out of the way; she would _not_ have been able to defend against something like that with just a measly shield.

" **Miraculous as that ability is, girl,"** Hyperion stated, glaring at her, **"It's _really_ starting to get on my nerves!" **He shot a Bala at her shield, and she flinched when it shuddered and cracked, but ultimately held.

"Please wake up... please!" she uttered, her vision going blurry. She wasn't sure if that was due to tears, or due to her brain finally succumbing under the strain.

" **What does it matter if he wakes up?"** Hyperion asked, closing the distance between them even as he continued swatting at Tsubaki. **"My Curse has spread through most of his body. His energy reserves are all but** **depleted** **, and his mind is on the verge of collapsing from** **pain and exhaustion** **. He's** _ **done**_ **for, and so are-"**

Grimmjow's Reiatsu flared back to life, cutting off Hyperion's rant. Hope briefly rushed up inside Orihime's chest, only to be squashed right back down by fear and panic when that Reiatsu began to change, becoming darker and far, _far_ heavier than anything she had ever felt from her companion.

"G- Grimmjow?" She let out a cry and instinctively flinched backwards when Grimmjow's arm suddenly whipped out and planted itself in the sand as he pushed himself up. The muscles underneath his armor bulged almost comically large, and suddenly the armor on his arm _shattered,_ a plume of dark blue energy flaring out of the newly created gap.

" **Oh now what the hell is _this?!"_** Hyperion complained. **"First that Kurosaki brat and now you?! Don't think for even a second that I'm going to let you-"**

Orihime never did find out just what Hyperion wasn't going to let him do, as that was when Grimmjow pointed a single, glowing finger at him. _"Cero Oscuras,"_ he muttered in a worryingly bland, emotionless tone, and fired a pitch-black ray of death directly at the approaching Visored.

The resulting explosion was far, _far_ more powerful than Orihime had expected. Her already weakened shield finally collapsed once the recoil from the blast hit, and she herself was sent flying. All of her fairies automatically returned to her side once her concentration was broken, but Grimmjow didn't appear to require any more healing.

He staggered to his feet, the rest of the _Acero_ covering his torso and upper arms slowly flaking off. The bare skin underneath stretched and twisted as all of his major muscle groups seemed to double in mass at an absurd rate, and Orihime could only gasp in shock when coarse white fur grew in to replace the lost _Acero._

The bone armor on his forearms remained, yet rapidly darkened until it was the same jet-black color as his claws. Everything from his toes to his waist (thankfully) remained intact as well, although the armor there had to expand rapidly in order to accommodate the additional muscle tissue developing underneath, and the tip of his tail was now adorned by a wicked, scythe-like blade made of bone.

The tiny Mask Fragment he had retained after releasing his Resurrección that sat upon his brow like a crown crumbled away into dust even as his hair, if possible, became even wilder than it already was. It grew thicker and much more coarse, large tufts of it falling past his shoulders and trailing halfway down his chest, right next to where another patch of longer blue fur was now emerging, spanning the area from his solar plexus up to his collarbones in stark contrast to the shorter, white hair covering the rest of his torso.

He looked like a lion, Orihime realized. A white lion, with a sky blue mane.

"Resurrección," Grimmjow muttered, still in that strange, apathetic tone of voice. Orihime paled even further when she saw the massive, gruesome teeth lining his now equally massive maw.

"Segunda Etapa."

He reared back, puffed out his chest, and _roared._

Orihime could have sworn the world was ending. If she'd been any closer, she had no doubt her eardrums would have ruptured. All the sand in a circular area around Grimmjow was blown away, _just from him roaring._

His Reiatsu became even heavier, physically weighing Orihime down, and making her feel like she was wading through a thick soup instead of air.

She felt something else too. A sensation of being watched... no.

Of being _hunted_.

" **What the... what the hell is _wrong_ with you brats?!" ** Hyperion coughed, emerging from the smoke. **"You and that hybrid Soul Reaper both... just _what the hell ARE YOU?!_ "**

Hyperion raised one hand, crackling with electricity... and recoiled when he found himself staring into Grimmjow's pupil-less, glowing blue eyes. From about three inches away from his own face.

Orihime hadn't seen anything. One moment he'd been standing right in front of her, the next he'd gotten up inside Hyperion's guard, with his gauntlet as well as the long, steel pike emerging from it – _Byakko's Fang –_ raised high.

He brought it down, and effortlessly severed Hyperion's left arm.

The Visored cried out in agony, instantly backing away with a burst of Sonido, and cradling his stump until it stopped bleeding.

Grimmjow chased after him, almost absently stomping down on the severed arm as he passed it and breaking both the Acero covering it and the bones within, reducing the limb to a gory mess when the skin split open. The fingers twitched one last time.

Getting desperate, Hyperion let loose a Bala that hit Grimmjow right in the chest and actually gave him pause for a moment. Hyperion exploited that moment to approach while he was still stunned, and grabbed Grimmjow's face with his remaining, normal-sized hand, digging his fingers into his cheeks.

" **Die already, dammit!"** he screamed, borderline hysteric from pain and panic, and unleashed several thousand Volts of electricity into Grimmjow's skull.

It didn't bother him nearly as much as either Orihime or Hyperion had expected.

Grimmjow wrapped a hand around Hyperion's wrist and broke it with a simple squeeze.

The Visored let out another pained cry, one that quickly turned into a horrible, drawn out scream when Grimmjow sank his teeth into the exposed flesh of the arm and began tearing it off at the elbow.

Somehow – _somehow -_ Hyperion still had the clarity of mind to bring his single, skeletal wing forward, and rammed the sharp, pointed tips of the bones into Grimmjow's side, thus creating a closed circuit from the wing, to Grimmjow's midriff, all the way to the teeth still clamping down on what remained of Hyperion's arm.

Hyperion unleashed all the power he had left.

Orihime squinted her eyes against the brightness of the arcs of energy now dancing between the two men. Grimmjow's entire body was convulsing, yet still he refused to let up, and finally the bones between his teeth crunched and the ligaments tore, and Hyperion's entire forearm suddenly came loose from the rest of his body with a sound like a rubber band snapping.

The electricity fizzled out dramatically, with sparks flying everywhere when the two broke apart.

Smoke trailed from Grimmjow's upper body, and much of his white fur had been burnt away. Some blood was leaking out from the puncture wounds in his side, but a lot more of it was dripping down his jaw and into the tuft of blue hair on his chest. He turned his head to the side, and spat out Hyperion's forearm.

Said Visored could only watch in horror as Grimmjow marched up to him. **"Get away... get the hell away from me!"** he cried out as he staggered backwards, leaking blood everywhere he went. He had nothing left to power his Regeneration with.

Heedless of his cries, Grimmjow kept coming. With a flick of his wrist, he withdrew the pike, and replaced it with the four impossibly sharp talons that made up Byakko's _Claw._ The metal glowed bright blue.

" _Desgarrón."_

At his command, four blinding streaks of arctic blue light arced up into the night sky.

Hyperion looked at them, and saw death.

Grimmjow charged. He thundered forward, as fast as he could go without using _Sonido,_ stretching out his arm as he ran and leaving a trail of light behind him. Hyperion continued backing away, now breathing heavily. He had no arms, one skeletal wing, and next to no energy left. Samael's Chains would not even allow him to attempt escaping.

There was nothing he could do. Nothing, except for one final, desperate gambit.

" _ **King!"**_ Hyperion called out in a final act of desperation, and found his plea heeded when the black markings trailing over what remained of his armor and mask lit up in a bright purple glow, reinforcing the armor to easily three times its usual toughness.

Grimmjow's _Claw_ sliced right through it anyway.

Orihime covered her face against the shrieking gale that passed over her in the wake of Grimmjow's attack. When she looked up again, she saw Hyperion standing stock-still, staring up at the sky with wide eyes.

Four ragged, bloody gouges had been carved into his chest.

A strange, metallic rattling drew her attention to the ground at their feet. Coils of whispy, black chains fell onto the sand, slithering off Hyperion's torso after being severed by Grimmjow's attack. As soon as the last link fell, the Black Chains burst into flames, and faded away.

They were immediately followed by a waterfall of blood, gushing out of Hyperion's chest. The man tilted his head backwards, and when his Mask's mouth opened, another crimson flood poured out.

He took two more steps back, the dripping of blood sounding disproportionately loud in the sudden, eerie quiet, then sank to his knees, and simply stared as Grimmjow loomed over him.

The Arrancar withdrew his claws into the gauntlet, clenched his fingers into a fist, and punched his opponent full-on in the face with the metal glove. The horrible crunching sounds that rang out alluded to more than just Hyperion's Mask being broken.

He fell down, and didn't get back up.

Orihime let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. Hesitantly, she drew nearer to the two men, only to freeze up when a wet, rasping sound reached her ears. It was only when she saw the fallen Visored's shoulders shaking that she realized the sound was _laughter._

Very slowly, and more than a little awkwardly due to him lacking arms, he raised his head. Most of his Mask was gone; only a single, hand-sized fragment still clung to the side of his head. One purple eye stared out from the eye-hole. The other eye was gray.

Hyperion coughed once more, and spit out a mouthful of blood and teeth alike. He chuckled again, drawing back his lips to reveal the red ruin his mouth had become. **"H** ow v **ery... f** itt **ing,"** Takahashi uttered as his eyes raked over Grimmjow's monstrous form.

He drew one last, gasping breath as he met Orihime's gaze. "Run... girl."

Then his eyes rolled back into his head, and he collapsed.

Loud cracks echoed across the desert sands as what little remained of his armor came apart with a burst of bright, purple light. When it dimmed, Takahashi was lying stretched out on the ground, with an unusually long sword embedded in the sand by his side. The steel was red-hot, and still crackling with residual electricity. The purple arcs traveling along the length of the blade shifted to green, and then dispersed entirely.

Almost hesitantly, the first drops of rain hit the sand, and before long, a genuine downpour started as all the moisture Hyperion had accumulated came back down. Orihime hadn't thought it necessary to dress for rain, and the torrent quickly left her soaked to the bone. It should have been over now... but one look at Grimmjow was enough for Orihime to know that it wasn't.

He stared wordlessly at Takahashi's unconscious body (he _was_ still breathing, Orihime noted with substantial relief) and took one step forward. Then another. As he approached, he allowed his Shikai to shift into its _Claw_ configuration once more.

"Grimmjow!" Orihime called out, only to be ignored. "Grimmjow, stop! It's over!"

With a quick application of _Souten Kisshun,_ she phased directly _through_ Grimmjow and reappeared in between him and Takahashi. She spread her arms wide; flinging droplets of water around. "That's enough!" she proclaimed, "You've won! You have to stop now!"

His eerie, expressionless eyes stared at her. Then, he lifted his arm (the one without the gauntlet, thank the stars for small mercies) and swatted her to the side like she was nothing but an annoying fly.

The breath was knocked right out of her as she went flying, and she instantly realized she had sustained a minimum of three broken ribs after that little 'love tap'. Even though she found herself barely able to breathe upon hitting the sand, her hairpins nonetheless lit up when she activated her _Souten Kisshun_ once more, internally this time, and undid the damage.

By the time she had put herself back together, Grimmjow already had his gauntlet poised to drive all four of his claws directly into Takahashi's rib cage. Panic gripped her, and Orihime didn't think; she simply _did._

"I said _stop!"_ she screeched, and tore a small gash through Grimmjow's bicep with Tsubaki. He froze.

Before she even had time to feel sorry over hurting him, he appeared directly in front of her with a hum of Sonido, and the only reason Orihime was still alive was because she had _phased_ out of sheer reflex.

She could only watch in stunned disbelief as those claws cut through the space she had occupied not half a second earlier. His eyes followed her to her new location, and she drew in a shaky breath, but then he appeared to lose interest in her, and walked back to Takahashi's body to continue his grisly work.

Orihime honestly felt like dropping to her knees and crying.

She hadn't felt any Reiatsu coming from Ichigo's group for a long time now. She didn't even want to imagine what that could mean. She wanted so badly to run to their side...

… and realized that she could.

Grimmjow was fixated on Takahashi. In his current state, he probably wouldn't even notice if she were to sneak off. Takahashi _himself_ had even told her to run away.

But if she did that, then Takahashi would most assuredly die. The others were all counting on her and Grimmjow to bring the man back alive. That wasn't even considering what else Grimmjow might do should she run off and leave him to his own devices while he was in this mindless, berserk state.

A single tear ran down her cheek. What was she thinking? Of course she couldn't just run off. She couldn't just abandon her responsibilities here and head to Ichigo's side. She'd never forgive herself if she did. She knew she had no choice but to stop him, but how? When Ichigo had gone berserk during his fight with Ulquiorra, he had only stopped when the Espada cut the horn off his Mask.

Grimmjow had no horns to cut off, or even a Mask for her to break. There was nothing she could-

_Oh_. There was one thing.

And she was the only one who could do it.

The plan formed almost entirely of its own accord, and Orihime despised how efficiently her mind had come up with it. All the same, she knew that it had to be done. So before she could talk herself out of it, she reached out to all six of her fairies and began her attack.

As the glowing spear and windmilling _shuriken_ she summoned homed in on their target, Orihime focused on nothing but Grimmjow's Reiatsu. Even if he had unlocked immense power by entering this second stage of Resurrección, he _had_ to be nearing his limit by now.

Her fairies left two large gashes across Grimmjow's back in an 'X'-shape, and she could feel the shift in his Reiatsu the exact moment he decided to attack. The metal of Grimmjow's Claw lit up brilliant blue once more, and he charged at her full tilt.

The time Orihime had spent with Hacchi had been nothing if not productive. She had discovered new variants for all three of her main abilities, and become more or less proficient with all of them.

She had a pretty good grasp on Tsubaki's techniques by now, feeling quite confident about using his Spear and Arrow forms. As for the other two, she had barely scratched the surface of what she could do with those. A few weeks had not been enough time to master every single aspect of the Shun Shun Rikka.

However... there was one other thing she had discovered. An entirely new ability, created purely by accident while testing out different combinations with her fairies.

One Hacchi had expressly forbidden her from ever using.

Sand and Reiatsu alike slammed into her when Grimmjow approached, and it was all she could do not to flinch and look away. The C _law_ was coming for her – further empowered by _Desgarrón_ , nonetheless, and she knew she had to hold out until the _very,_

_last,_

_second-_

_Now!_

At the last possible instant before she'd be cut to shreds, Orihime activated her _phase_ ability, and despite the fact that Grimmjow's attack couldn't cause any actual damage while she was incorporeal, she nonetheless still felt the phantom sensation of those blades slicing through her body and had to bite her teeth hard in order to remain focused.

Even if the claws themselves had passed through her quickly, the energy trails of Grimmjow's Desgarrón lingered substantially longer, and those would cut her apart just as easily as the claws would have. She could feel the Void eating away at her as she went past her two-and-a-half-second limit.

Finally, the energy dispersed, and Orihime allowed herself to materialize again. The exact moment she did, Grimmjow's Reiatsu output dropped dramatically, weakened after performing such a powerful, costly attack.

It was the only time he would be vulnerable.

The only moment wherein her technique would work.

She recalled her four errant fairies. "Tsubaki, Baigon, Lily, Hinagiku," she recited, ignoring the way every single fiber of her being was telling her to turn tail and run as Grimmjow wound up for a second strike.

" _Shiten Kyoken_ _[Four Heavens' Phantom Blade]."_

An ethereal, western-style broadsword burst out of Grimmjow's chest, impaling him from behind. She could see Tsubaki sitting within the blade's tip. The other three made up the hilt and guard, and were hidden from view by Grimmjow's body. She opened her mouth to finish the technique, and felt as if her heart was being crushed by a vice as the reality of what she was about to do set in.

"I... I reject."

The entire blade lit up with a bright orange light, becoming blinding to look at... and vanished. Orihime's hair whipped about her face from the air displacement as the vacuum left behind by the sword was rapidly filled in again.

The sword was gone. So were four of her fairies. And so was a good chunk of Grimmjow's chest and internal organs.

He looked down at the gaping hole in his rib cage. Even now, his face remained perfectly blank. He raised his head to lock eyes with Orihime, and she couldn't look away; couldn't even blink, despite the tears streaming down her face.

The eerie blue glow in his eyes faded. He wobbled in place before his knees buckled, and Orihime instinctively reached out to catch him as he fell. Muscular as he was in this form, he was far, _far_ too heavy for her, and both of them sank to their knees together.

Orihime feared she would be crushed underneath his weight, but then his Resurrección gave out and he grew considerably lighter, although the dense, heavy Reiatsu pouring out of him burnt and irritated every inch of exposed skin Orihime had.

She held him tightly in her arms, rubbing cheeks with him as she prevented him from keeling over, and tried not to burst into hysterical tears when she felt warm wetness dripping down the front of her shirt. Digging her nails into his back, she slowly looked to the side, and was met by unseeing blue eyes and hideously dilated pupils.

An almost inhuman wail clawed its way out of her throat, and her hands shook so badly she was unable to catch Grimmjow when he slipped out of her hold and slumped to the side. Without his body blocking the view, she finally laid eyes on her own, blood-covered hands and the red streak dripping down her shirt and pants.

It was too much.

Later, she would remember very little of the following minutes, except that they involved several bouts of dry-heaving, screaming until her throat was raw, and pulling out large chunks of her own hair.

It was only when the agonizing rebound effect of overusing her P _hase_ ability hit her and the Void began to eat away at her insides in compensation that she came to her senses. Spitting out a mouthful of blood that only added to the mess her clothes had become, she staunchly ignored the way her arms briefly turned transparent and sat down at Grimmjow's side.

She whimpered pathetically once more when she saw his pale, bloodless face and the gaping wound in his chest, and needed another minute to calm herself down.

Once she had, she called upon her two remaining fairies and hit the 'talk' button on her earpiece as she got to work.

"This is Orihime," she spoke, making her voice as steady as she could under these circumstances.

"I need help."


End file.
